Thomas Robert Malthus

Description

Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834) was a leading figure in the British classical school of economics, best-known for extending the insights of Adam Smith at a time of revolutionary improvements in agriculture and industry. This book explores the way in which he accounted for the tendency to overpopulation, the exhaustion of arable land and the deficiency of effective demand. Malthus relied on historical and empirical evidence in the spirit of Bacon and Hume, but also backed up his data with a priori hypotheses that link him to his contemporary, David Ricardo. Malthus was strongly in favour of free trade, the minimal State, the gold standard and the abolition of poverty relief. Always a pragmatist, however, he was just as much in favour of public education, contra-cyclical public works and a safety net of tariffs and bounties to encourage national self-sufficiency with regard to food. He was both an economist and a clergyman and saw the two roles as interconnected. Malthus believed that a benevolent Deity had created vice and misery in order to shake human beings out of their natural indolence that would otherwise have condemned them to still greater distress. This title provides a clear and comprehensive examination of Malthus’s economic and social thought. It will be of interest to students and scholars alike. Front Matter ....Pages i-viii Introduction (David Reisman)....Pages 1-28 Induction and Deduction (David Reisman)....Pages 29-48 The Law of Population (David Reisman)....Pages 49-76 Public Policy (David Reisman)....Pages 77-96 The Poor Laws (David Reisman)....Pages 97-113 Balanced Growth (David Reisman)....Pages 115-129 Tariffs and Bounties (David Reisman)....Pages 131-157 The Circular Flow (David Reisman)....Pages 159-183 Circular Flow and Social Class (David Reisman)....Pages 185-208 Society and State (David Reisman)....Pages 209-233 Foreign Trade (David Reisman)....Pages 235-243 Money (David Reisman)....Pages 245-266 God’s Design (David Reisman)....Pages 267-292 Malthus’s Legacy: A System of Ideas (David Reisman)....Pages 293-299 Back Matter ....Pages 301-312