Definition of malthusianism Malthusianism

Mal•thu•si•an•ism

We found 5 definitions of malthusianism from 5 different sources.

What does malthusianism mean?

WordNet

Noun
malthusianism - Malthus' theory that population increase would outpace increases in the means of subsistence
		Malthusian theory

= synonym
= antonym
= related word

Wiktionary

malthusianism (Noun)
The viewpoint that population will always grow faster than the food supply that it needs to survive and prosper.

Webster DictionaryWebster's Unabridged Dictionary 📘

malthusianism (n.)
The system of Malthusian doctrines relating to population.

Wikipedia

Malthusianism is a set of ideas developed by Reverend Thomas Robert Malthus. Malthus was an economist who lived during the industrial revolution.

In 1798, Mathus published a book, called "An Essay on the Principle of Population". In it, he describes the Malthusian growth model. He wrote that the groth of the population is exponential. The growth of the food supply however is only arithmethical. This means if there are no limits to the growth of the population, that it will not be possible to produce food for all of them. This is known as Malthusian catastrophe. Malthus wrote during the time of the Manchester School of thought.

The Tory party had paternalistic ideas such as charity for the poor. Malthus said this would not work, and it would only lead to increased numbers of the poor. The theory was developed into Whig economic ideas such as The Poor Law Amendment Act of 1834. Its opponents described the act as "a Malthusian bill designed to force the poor to emigrate, to work for lower wages, to live on a coarser sort of food". The act brought the construction of workhouses despite riots and arson.

By that time the ideas were widespread in progressive social circles. One supporter was the novelist Harriet Martineau whose circle of acquaintances included Charles Darwin. The ideas of Malthus were a significant influence on the inception of Darwin's theory.

According to Dr. Dan Ritschel of the Center for History Education at the University of Maryland, The great Malthusian dread