Chapter 9 : THOMAS ROBERT MALTHUS (1766-1834)

THOMAS ROBERT MALTHUS (1766-1834)

Introduction

• Biographical Details: Born in 1766, the youngest son of Daniel Malthus (a country gentleman and friend of contemporary philosophers). Received an excellent education and worked briefly as a curate.
• Academic Career: Appointed professor of History and Political Economy in 1807 at a college founded by the East India Company in England, remaining there until his death in 1834.
• Personal Life: Married at thirty-nine years of age; had three sons and one daughter.
• Relationship with David Ricardo: Enjoyed a warm friendship with Ricardo, despite disagreeing on almost all aspects of political economy except the Malthusian analysis of the population problem. Both are known as pessimists in the history of economic thought.
• Economic Stance: A classical economist who differed significantly from other members of the classical school. John Maynard Keynes called Malthus the "first of the Cambridge economists."
• Major Contributions: Famous for his theory of population and his theory of Market gluts (which discusses problems relating to the inadequacy of aggregate demand).
• Main Works:

1. An Essay on the Principle of Population (1798)
2. Principles of Political Economy (1820)

Key Terms

📌 Exam Tidbits

• J.M. Keynes (1933): Called Malthus the "first of the Cambridge economists."
• Key contrast: Malthus vs other Classical Economists — the difference is that Malthus doubted the self-adjusting nature of the economy and focused on aggregate demand, whereas others assumed full employment.
• 2 Main Works: An Essay on the Principle of Population (1798) and Principles of Political Economy (1820).

The Social Background of Malthusian Theory of Population

• Context of the 1798 Essay: The Industrial Revolution had begun showing evil effects (unemployment, poverty, and disease). Taxes levied on property owners for poor relief were considered burdensome.
• Class Conflict: Landlords were attacked by other classes as an exploiting class (described as people who "loved to reap where they had not sown"). Merchants and manufacturers began challenging the political power of landlords.
• Immediate Cause of Malthus's Pessimism: His father's optimism. Daniel Malthus,…