The Economics Book

69

See also: Agriculture in the economy 39 ■ Diminishing returns 62 ■ The
emergence of modern economies 178–79 ■ Economic growth theories 224–25

THE AGE OF REASON

original, lower level of living
standards. This is called the
Malthusian trap: higher living
standards are always choked off
by population growth. So whatever
happens, the economy always
reverts to the level of food output
that is just enough to support a
stable population.
Malthus’s vision was one of
economic stagnation, with the
population eking out a living and
its growth being checked by
hunger and disease. However, his
model—an economy of farmers
toiling with simple tools on a fixed
amount of land—was already out of
step with the times by the turn of
the 18th century. New techniques

allowed more food to be produced

from the same amount of land and

labor. New machines and factories

allowed more goods to be produced

per worker. Technological progress

meant that growing populations

enjoyed ever-higher living

standards. By 2000, Britain

had more than three times the

population of Malthus’s time,

with incomes 10 times higher.

Over time, technology has

overcome the constraints of land

and demographics. Malthus did

not foresee this. Today, his ideas

are echoed in fears that population

levels are pushing against the

capacity of the Earth in ways that

new technology cannot offset. ■

Thomas Malthus

Thomas Robert Malthus was

born in Surrey, England, in

1766, and was given a liberal

education by his father, a

country squire. His godfathers

were the philosophers David

Hume and Jean-Jacques

Rousseau. He was born with

a cleft palate and suffered

from a speech defect.

At Cambridge University

Malthus was tutored by a

religious dissenter, William

Frend, before being ordained

into the Church of England in

1788. Like his teacher he
      never shied away from
      controversy. In 1798, he
      published his Essay on the
      Principle of Population,
      the work that would bring
      him notoriety. In 1805, the
      new East India College
      appointed him Professor of
      Political Economy, a subject
      not yet taught at universities,
      which perhaps makes him the
      first academic economist.
      Malthus died of heart disease
      in 1834, aged 68.

Key works

1798 An Essay on the Principle

of Population

1815 The Nature of Rent

1820 Principles of Political

Economy

Population growth

keeps us poor.

The human sex

drive causes the

population to grow.

Growth in the

food supply is unable

to keep up.

The population

decreases, and the

food supply is

adequate again.

“Poor relief” (welfare

benefits) would bring

health to the poor, but

encourage them to have

more children.

As there is not enough

food for all, some people

die from hunger.