History of Economic Thought - Thomas Malthus. Thomas Robert Malthus and The Population Trap A powerpoint for Chapter 6 of Evolution of Economic Thought by Stanley Brue and Randey Grant

2. An Essay On the Principle of
Population
Principles of Political
Economy

3.  Led to the “POOR
LAWS” – giving the
poor minimum
income despite
their earnings. (if
you have few
money, the
government will
give you extra to
sustain/ feed
yourself).

4.  Growing population necessitated import of food.
IMPORTS
 PRICE OF DOMESTIC GRAIN
RENTAL INCOME
Fearing this, They passed a law (Corn Laws)
imposing high tariffs on imported grain.
*COMPETITION
DRIVES DOWN
PRICES OF
GOODS

5.  WILLIAM GODWIN –
 Population growth would not be a problem,
once population limit is reached, humanity
will refuse to propagate further.
 MARQUIS DE CONDORCET
 Population would increase as a result of
beneficent reforms, but the food supply
would increase more rapidly.

6.  THE IDEAS OF CONDORCET AND GODWIN WERE
REJECTED BY MALTHUS.
 Vices and misery that plague society are not
because of evil human institutions, as put by
Condorcet, but the prolific fertility of the human
race.
 The abolition of war by Condorcet would remove
an essential remedy for population growth.
 He rejected Godwin’s egalitarian society which
mean more food for masses. Such welfare
programs would counter hunger as a factor
limiting population growth.

7. POPULATION
INCREASES
GEOMETRICALLY

8. POPULATION
SCARCITY

9.  The Population Theory was proposed earlier,
by Richard Cantillon.
 Food is restricted by the
amount of Land.
Related to Turgo’s Law of Diminishing
Productivity.

10.  The Preventive Checks approved by Malthus,
he termed “MORAL RESTRAINT”
 Reduces Birth Rate
CELIBACY
MARRY AT A
LATER AGE

11. BIRTH CONTROL
“VICES”

13.  Thomas Malthus: represented “punishments”
for people who had not practiced “moral
restraint”.
 Includes Famine, Misery, Plague and War.

16.  THOMAS MALTHUS’ own form
of laizzes faire:
 “We should facilitate the
operations of nature in
producing mortality.”
“Instead of recommending
cleanliness to the poor, we
should encourage the contrary.
We should make streets
narrower, crowd more people
into houses, and court the return
of the plague. We should [reject]
specific remedies for diseases.”

17.  Malthus:
“With regard to illegitimate
children, they should not have
parish assistance, but be left
entirely to the support of
private charity.”
 Following Malthus Ideas, in
1834, Law abolished all
relief for able-bodied people
outside workhouses.

18.  Charles Dickens'
Oliver Twist is a
perfect portrayal of
British Society and
the effect of
Thomas Malthus's
ideas on the Poor
Laws.
“Oliver, an innocent child, is
trapped in a world where his only
options seem to be the workhouse,
Fagin's gang, a prison, or an early
grave.” - Wikipedia

19. POPULATION
POPULATION
SUBSISTENCE
WAGE
SUBSISTENCE
WAGE
THEREFORE, ONLY MORAL
RESTRAINT CAN IMPROVE
STANDARD OF LIVING

20. INDUSTRIAL
REVOLUTION
LED TO A
DRAMATIC
INCREASE IN
POPULATION DUE
TO IMPROVEMENTS
IN MEDICINE, AT
THE SAME TIME AN
INCREASE IN FOOD
DUE TO
TECHONOLOGICAL
PROGRESS.

21. Rejection of
Say’s Law
Importance
of Landlords
Malthus’ support of
Corn Laws

22.  SAYS’ LAW:
“The level of aggregate demand
will be exactly equal to the amount
of product that manufacturers
choose to produce. ”
Supply always = Demand

23. Supply
╪
Demand

24.  Belief in Say’s law will induce people to
produce more than they can sell.
 So that,
Demand >
Supply

25. GLUT:
“To flood (the market) with
goods so that supply
exceeds demand.”
- Merriam Webster’s Dictionary

26.  Malthus felt that the key to avoiding such
gluts lay in the amount spent by the land-
owning class.
 If they spent freely, there would be adequate
demand, gluts would be avoided and
unemployment would be low.
SPENDING BY
LANDLORDS
EFFECTIVE
DEMAND

27.  THEREFORE, Workers alone cant buy all the
goods produced. The extra output is bought
by capitalists/ landlords.
TOTAL WAGE< TOTAL VALUE OF
PRODUCTS

28.  Malthus felt that the key to avoiding such
gluts lay in the amount spent by the land-
owning class.
 If they spent freely, there would be adequate
demand, gluts would be avoided and
unemployment would be low.
SPENDING BY
LANDLORDS
EFFECTIVE
DEMAND

29.  As a result,
THOMAS ADVOCATED THE CORN LAW’S (INCREASE
ON TARRIFS IMPOSED ON IMPORTED CORN).
TARRIF
ON
IMPORTED
CORN
PRICE OF
IMPORTS RENT/
INCOME OF
LANDLORDS
SPENDING BY
LANDLORDS
EFFECTIVE
DEMAND
THEREBY
PREVENTING
MARKET
GLUT
PEOPE WILL
PREFER TO
BUY LOCAL
PRODUCE

30.  THOMAS MALTHUS RECOMMENDS
GOVERNMENT SPENDING ON PUBLIC WORKS
IN TIMES OF ECONOMIC DISTRESS.

31.  Malthus’ ideas had an impact on keynes.
 Keynes believed that when spending
increases in an economy, earnings also
increase, which can lead to even more
spending and earnings.
 He also proposed to increase government spending in
times of depression which is the same with malthus.
 Franklin Roosevelt did so during the great depression
which helped revive the US Economy.

32.  Thomas Malthus failed to address the
processes by which people obtain food.
 EVEN WITH ENOUGH FOOD SUPPLY,
STARVATION CAN STILL HAPPEN.
AMARTYA SEN : IF A SEGMENT OF THE
POPULATION LACKS ADEQUATE INCOME TO
PURCHASE FOOD, FAMINE MAY OCCUR EVEN IF
FOOD IS AVAILABLE.

33.  “Currently, the world can sustain 11 billion
people. Today we have 7 billion people. And
yet, A lot of people in the developing world
are dying of hunger.” – SciShow

34. “The problem
is not
population, the
problem is how
many rich
people can the
world sustain.”
– SciShow, The
Science of
Overpopulation

35. PPT by Irene Sumalde