8 Quotes & Sayings By Thomas Malthus

Thomas Robert Malthus was an English economist who wrote on the theory of population, in his 1798 book An Essay on the Principle of Population. He is best known today for his prediction that population growth would inevitably outrun food production, leading to famine, poverty and war. His forecasts were widely criticised when they appeared, but became increasingly influential in Western thought.

1
In a state therefore of great equality and virtue, where pure and simple manners prevailed, the increase of the human species would evidently be much greater than any increase that has been hitherto known. Thomas Malthus
2
I do not know that any writer has supposed that on this earth man will ultimately be able to live without food. Thomas Malthus
3
The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man. Thomas Malthus
4
The superior power of population cannot be checked without producing misery or vice. Thomas Malthus
5
I think it will be found that experience, the true source and foundation of all knowledge, invariably confirms its truth. Thomas Malthus
6
The great and unlooked for discoveries that have taken place of late years have all concurred to lead many men into the opinion that we were touching on a period big with the most important changes. Thomas Malthus
7
Population, when unchecked, goes on doubling itself every 25 years or increases in a geometrical ratio. Thomas Malthus