United Kingdom
Thomas Robert Malthus
said
It is an acknowledged truth in philosophy that a just theory will always be confirmed by experiment.
— Chapter I, paragraph 9, lines 1-2
Thomas Robert Malthus
British political economist (1766–1834)
- Fame71.1
- Momentum15.0
- Academics rank#135
Source-basedRising
- Fame71.1
- Momentum15.0
- Academics rank#135
- Wikipedia24K
Lived 1766–1834, aged 68United Kingdom
Summary
Updated 2026-06-08
An English cleric who declared that hunger and misery were built into the human condition — not because people were cruel, but because they bred faster than they could feed themselves. His 1798 essay made scarcity permanent and progress impossible, and the argument has haunted policy and science ever since.
Biography
About
Malthus was an economist, cleric, and scholar working in the fields of political economy and demography. In 1798 he published An Essay on the Principle of Population, observing that whenever food production improved, populations grew until the lower classes were pushed back into hardship, want, and greater susceptibility to war, famine, and disease. He called it inevitable: "The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man." As an Anglican cleric, he saw the trap as divinely imposed to teach virtue. He opposed the Poor Laws, saying they…
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Sourced, dated quotes from Thomas Robert Malthus
Thomas Robert Malthus
said
Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio, Subsistence, increases only in an arithmetical ratio.
— Chapter I, paragraph 18, lines 1-2
Thomas Robert Malthus
said
The transfer of three shillings and sixpence a day to every labourer would not increase the quantity of meat in the country.
— Chapter V, paragraph 3, lines 5-8
Thomas Robert Malthus
said
I feel no doubt whatever that the parish laws of England have contributed to raise the price of provisions and to lower the real price of labour.
— Chapter V, paragraph 13, lines 1-3
Thomas Robert Malthus
said
The labouring poor, to use a vulgar expression, seem always to live from hand to mouth.
— Chapter V, paragraph 13, lines 8-13
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Rising71.1
Composite of search demand, mentions, audience & graph footprint.
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Momentum15.0
Historical24.9
Now attention26.1
Source confidence60.0
Completeness70.0
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- WikidataHigh confidencewikidata · wikidata.org
- WikipediaHigh confidencewikipedia · en.wikipedia.org
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