A PHILOSOPHICAL REVIEW OF THE MALTHUSIAN THEORY OF POPULATION AND WEALTH

Abstract

The question of overpopulation is adjudged the main source of economic crises and underdevelopment of individuals and nations in the line of thought of Robert Thomas Malthus. This paper therefore presents a philosophical review of Malthusian theory of population and wealth with the aim of pointing out the inherent weaknesses in the theory thereby creating a better understanding of human society with regard to the inherent stock of wealth in relation to human population. The paper debunks the efficacy of implementation of his postulated negative human efforts like abortion, birth control and moral restraint together with positive natural disasters like famine, drought; population checks would not only curb population induced economic crises but also guarantee steady food supply. {add – Thus} as persuasive as this argument could be, Malthus’ disputations did not represent the great abundance of nature’s resources and the productive capacity of the human genius. The paper concludes that this neglect or oversight is due to Malthus’ pessimism, and therefore fall short of explaining fully the relationship between population increase and economic crises.