What is Malthusian Theory? (College Board AP® Human Geography)

Malthusian Theory and Its Critiques

• In his 1798 “Essay on the Principle of Population,” Thomas Malthus presented his theory on the relationship between population and natural resources

  • Malthus argued that, while the population increases exponentially, food supply increases arithmetically

  • He argued that the population would increase at a faster rate than the food supply, and the population would soon exceed food supplies

• Malthus proposed both “positive” and “negative” checks on population increase

  • Positive checks would include voluntarily lowering birth rates and slowing population growth

  • Negative checks would mean famine, war, and plague, which he believed would result if population levels were not reduced

• Neo-Malthusians agree with the main premise of Malthus’s theory today

  • They argue that Earth's resources can only support a finite population and that pressure on scarce natural resources leads to famine and war

  • Neo-Malthusians advocate for contraceptives and family planning to keep population low, protect resources, and prevent famine and war

• Critics of Malthus pointed out that the famine and war predicted by Malthus never occurred

  • Instead, food production increased much faster than Malthus believed it would, largely due to increases in technology

  • In addition, though the world population continues to increase, the rate of increase is much lower than in Malthus’s time

• Some of Malthus’s critics, like Esther Boserup, have an optimistic view of population growth

  • Boserup argued that population increase would spur increased agricultural production and the growth of new technologies