50 pages • 1 hour read
Thomas MalthusAn Essay on the Principle of Population
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 1798A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
Explain the difference between positive and preventive checks to population. Provide examples for each.
Contemporary economists have largely rejected Malthus’s theory of population growth. Discuss why this is the case.
To what extent does Malthus reject the idea of the perfectibility of mankind?
Is population growth inevitable in the face of abundance? Does food production necessarily follow a linear growth rate? Use contemporary data and compare them to Malthus’s tables.
Explain why Malthus disagrees with poor relief and discuss his reasoning.
To what extent can Malthusian theory be considered defeatist? Discuss.
According to Malthus, what is the ultimate purpose of life, and how does it relate to his population theory?
What role does the concept of scarcity play in Malthus’s theory of population growth?
To what extent does the modern widespread practice of contraception challenge Malthus’s population theory?
Malthus preaches the use of careful observation as the ultimate tool for philosophical reasoning. Discuss to what extent he has applied this to his own methodology and explore its limitations.
