Malthusian Theory Of Population

• Published in 1798 by Thomas Robert Malthus, the theory explains the relationship between the growth in food supply and in population.
• According to this theory, the human population increases in geometrical progression and if unchecked doubles itself every 25 years. On the other hand, the food supply increases in a slow arithmetical progression due to the operation of the law of diminishing returns based on the supposition that the supply of land is constant. And if unchecked, the population tends to outrun food supply, thus creating an imbalance.
• Malthus was severely criticized for his narrow and pessimistic views.
• For instance, his idea that population increases in geometrical progression in 25 years have not been proved empirically.
• His doctrine advocates that food supply increases in arithmetical progression but he underestimated the technological advancements of the force of production by human through controlling nature over time.
• Further, his suggested preventive measures (by human themselves) such as late marriage, celibacy, moral restraint, etc. or, the positive measures (by nature) such as vice, misery, famine, war, disease, pestilence, floods, etc. to check the population growth are very pessimistic. ­­­­

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