The Principle of Population: Economic Development

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Economic Development
In his book, Essay on the Principle of Population as it affects the Future Improvement of Society, Rev. Thomas Robert Malthus gave his opinion on population and food production, what is now famously known as the Malthusian Theory. According to Malthus, increasing populations would create pressure on the food supply resulting in misery in the world due to decreased food supplies. The Malthusian theory states that population increases faster than food supply and if unchecked leads to misery or vice (Elwell).
According to Rev. Malthus, it is a natural instinct in humans to increase at fast rates. He said that population increases geometrically and if unchecked, can double every twenty-five years. However, food supply only increases arithmetically and as a result, cannot keep up with the growing populations. The low increase in food supply is due to the fact that land is a constant factor hence the law of diminishing returns will apply in this case. This, in turn, will result in increased population. In a bid to control these rising populations and mismatching food supply, Malthus suggested preventive and positive checks.
Preventive checks, as he suggested were those things predicted to occur as a result of the strains of taking care of a family. These checks include contraception as well as celibacy. These checks would be more popular among the upper class. Positive checks, on the other hand, apply mostly to the poorer populations and consist of the things which can hinder them from providing the required care to their families. Famine, infanticide, malnutrition, and diseases are some of the preventive checks suggested by the Malthusian theory.
The Malthusian theory has faced a lot of criticism from present-day economists. The m...