An Essay on the Principle of Population Totally Explained

Everything about An Essay On The Principle Of Population totally explained

The book An Essay on the Principle of Population was first published anonymously in 1798 through J. Johnson (London).
   The author was soon identified as The Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus. Whilst it wasn't the first book on population, it has been acknowledged as the most influential work of its era. Its 6th Edition was independently cited as a key influence by both Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace in developing the theory of natural selection.
   A key portion of the book was dedicated to what is now known as Malthus' Iron Law of Population. This pessimistic theory suggested that growing population rates would contribute to a rising supply of labor that would inevitably lower wages. In essence, Malthus feared that continued population growth would lend itself to poverty.
   One immediate impact of Malthus's book was that it fueled the debate about the size of the population in Britain and led to (or at least greatly accelerated) the passing of the Census Act 1800. This Act enabled the holding of a national census in England, Wales and Scotland, starting in 1801 and continuing every ten years to the present.
   In 1803, Malthus published a major revision to his first edition, as the same title second edition; his final version, the 6th edition, was published in 1826. From the 2nd edition onwards - in Book IV - Malthus advocated moral restraint as an additional, and voluntary, check on population. This included such measures as sexual abstinence and late marriage.
   As noted by Professor Robert M. Young, Malthus dropped his chapters on natural theology from the 2nd edition onwards. Also, the essay became less of a personal response to William Godwin and Marquis de Condorcet.

A summary view

A Summary View on the Principle of Population was published in 1830. The author was identified as Rev. T.R.Malthus, A.M., F.R.S.. Malthus wrote A Summary View for those who didn't have the leisure to read the full essay and, as he put it:
ť "...to correct some of the misrepresentations which have gone abroad respecting two or three of the most important points of the Essay..."

A Summary View ends with a defence of the Principle of Population against the charge that it:
ť "...impeaches the goodness of the Deity, and is inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the scriptures."

See main article Malthus for more.
This was Malthus' final word on his Principle of Population. He died in 1834.

Other Works that influenced Malthus

Of the Populousness of Ancient Nations (1752) - David Hume (1711-76)

An enquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776) - Adam Smith (1723-90)

A Dissertation on the Numbers of Mankind in Ancient and Modern Times (1753), Characteristics of the Present State of Great Britain (1758), and Various Prospects of Mankind, Nature and Providence (1761) - Robert Wallace (1697-1771)

Essay on the Population of England from the Revolution to Present Time (1780), Evidence for a Future Period in the State of Mankind, with the Means and Duty of Promoting it (1787) - Richard Price (1723-1791).

Observations concerning the Increase of Mankind, peopling of Countries, etc. (1751) by Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790)Further Information

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