Thomas Malthus what school of economics. Economic doctrine T

Introduction

1. The main stages of the biography of T.R. Malthus.

2. The main provisions of Malthus’ “theory of population”

3. Criticism of Malthusianism from the point of view of other teachings

Conclusion

List of used literature

Introduction

Thomas Robert Malthus – representative classical school European economic science of the 18th-19th centuries. The main works that contain his most remarkable results are “An Essay on the Law of Population...” published in 1798 and “Principles of Political Economy” published in 1820.

The most important contribution made by T. R. Malthus to economic science was his development of the “theory of population,” which attempted to connect economic and demographic factors. It should be noted that in the Malthusian formulation of this issue, this relationship turns out to be two-way: both economic processes influence changes in population, and demographic factors influence economic development. Of course, attempts to establish this kind of dependence had been made earlier, but it was the work of Malthus that laid the foundation for the further development of the demographic trend in economic science.

1. The main stages of the biography of T.R. Malthus

Thomas Robert Malthus was born on February 14, 1766 near Dorking (Surrey). His father was an extraordinary person: he studied science, was friends and corresponded with the most prominent thinkers of that time, David Hume and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Thomas entered one of the local institutions - Jesus College of the University of Cambridge and graduated from it in 1788. As the youngest son, T. Malthus was traditionally destined for a spiritual career. Therefore, it is no coincidence that, after graduating from college, he took holy orders. In 1793 he received an academic theological degree. In 1797-1803 he served as vicar of one of the parishes in Surrey. At the same time, the young Malthus, who always gravitated toward science, began teaching at the college in 1793 at the same time. At the same time, he devoted all his free time to the study of the problem of the relationship between economic processes and natural phenomena, which had captivated him in his youthful conversations and discussions with his father. In 1805-1834 he accepted an offer to become a professor at the department modern history and political economy at the East India Company College, where he also served as chaplain.

The main work of Thomas Malthus was an essay outlining the theory of population. The first edition of the book, entitled An Essay on the Law of Population, and How It Affects the Future Improvement of Society, with Remarks on the Ideas of M. Godwin, the Marquis de Condorcet, and Other Authors, was published anonymously in 1798. The author, an unmarried young pastor - the future scientist economist T. Malthus, attracted countless attacks. Largely for this reason, or rather, to improve his work, he during 1799-1802. travels through a number of European countries. And five years later, this time under his own name, in 1803, the second expanded edition of the book saw the light - twice as large in volume. Not only the second, but also subsequent editions were significantly updated and expanded, including historical excursions and critical analysis of the works of other authors.

As a result, in contrast to the form of a short pamphlet in the first edition, in all other editions the book was an extensive treatise. When the law was first published, Malthus was largely unaware of even the simplest facts about the population of not only other countries, but also England. So he believed the population of England to be 7 million, and the census of 1801 gave a result one and a half times larger, almost 11 million. When preparing the second edition, he took into account not only the materials of the census, but also the current church records; comparable data for other countries were also significantly improved . Thus, the analysis of the information received led Malthus to the need to transfer the core of the argument in the case of England and Europe to preventive limiters. In total, during his lifetime, six publications were published, with increasing circulation over and over again.

Continuing his scientific research, in 1815 T. Malthus published another work, “A Study on the Nature and Increase of Land Rent.” In this work, T. Malthus, based on natural nature rent, tried to reveal the mechanism of its formation and growth, to substantiate the significance of this type of income in the sale of the total product produced by society. However, he expressed his final judgment on rent and some other problems of the economy somewhat later, in 1820. That year, Malthus published his main work in creative terms, “Principles of Political Economy, Considered in Their Account.” practical application" Thomas Malthus died on December 23, 1834.

2. The main provisions of Malthus’s “theory of population”

The “theory of population” put forward by Malthus was outlined by him in his work “An Essay on the Law of Population...”, first published in 1798 and republished by the author with significant changes in 1803. Malthus sets the initial goal of his research as “improving the life of mankind.” It is worth noting that in presenting his ideas, Malthus widely uses not only economic, but also sociological, natural philosophical, ethical and even religious concepts and concepts.

Malthus considered the problem of population without regard to any particular mode of production and social development at all. He spoke of the “law of population” as an eternal, unshakable law of nature. In his opinion, both in the world of animals and plants, and in human society, there is an immutable law of nature, which “consists in the constant desire, characteristic of all living beings, to settle down faster than is allowed by the amount of food at their disposal.”

In relation to human society Malthus argued that population grows in geometric progression (i.e., 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256), while subsistence, in his opinion, grows in arithmetic progression (i.e. e. like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9...). In two centuries, he argued, population would be to subsistence as 256 to 9; in three - as 4096 to 13, and in two thousand years this gap would be limitless and incalculable. This concept would later be called the law of diminishing returns. Doubling the number of inhabitants of the Earth, he wrote, is actually equivalent to the fact that the size of the globe has decreased by half. And the larger the population, the less cultivable land remains per person. Therefore, due to the law of diminishing returns, there is a tendency for the growth of food resources to lag behind population growth. Malthus did not substantiate the assertions he put forward in any way; he proceeded from pure assumptions, not confirmed by any factual material.

True, he cites one fact, which, however, not only does not confirm his fabrications, but exposes his dishonesty as a scientist. He talks about doubling the population in North America for 25 years and considers this fact proof that the population is growing exponentially. However, in reality, as Malthus notes, population growth does not occur unchecked. He himself notes that the thesis of doubling does not hold. It is not difficult to calculate that otherwise the population would have increased 240 times in 1000 years. That is, if in 1001 AD there were two people living on Earth, then in 2001 there would already be more than 2x1012, or two trillion people, which is approximately three hundred times higher than the actual value today.

Such reproduction, according to Malthus, is possible only under certain specific conditions, and in real life a person faces various “obstacles”, which can be classified as follows:

1. Moral restraint: “The duty of every person is to decide on marriage only when he can provide his offspring with the means of subsistence; but at the same time, it is necessary that the inclination towards married life retains all its strength, so that it can maintain energy and awaken in a celibate person the desire to achieve through work the necessary degree of well-being.”

2. Vices: “Promiscuity, unnatural relationships, desecration of the marital bed, tricks taken to conceal the consequences of a criminal and unnatural relationship.”

3. Misfortunes: “Unhealthy occupations, hard, excessive or weather-exposed work, extreme poverty, poor nutrition of children, unhealthy living conditions big cities, all kinds of excesses, disease, epidemic, war, plague, famine.”

In fact, this doubling of the population took place only at a certain historical stage of development and it occurred due to immigration, and not natural population growth.

The main conclusion that Malthus made from his “Essay on the Law of Population” was that poverty, the poverty of the working masses, is the result of the inevitable laws of nature, and not the social organization of society. The poor and the propertyless have no right to demand anything from the rich, since the latter are not to blame for their misfortunes (“The main and continuous cause of poverty,” wrote Malthus, “depends little or not at all on the form of government, or on the uneven distribution of property; the rich are not power to provide the poor with work and food; - therefore, the poor, by the very essence of things, do not have the right to demand work and food from them: these are the important truths that follow from the law of population").

Malthus, thus, very clearly revealed the purpose of his theory of population - it is aimed at paralyzing the class struggle of the proletariat, “proving” the groundlessness and ineffectiveness of its demands presented to the bourgeoisie. It is not for nothing that Malthus especially emphasized that the dissemination of his ideas “among the poor” would have a “beneficial” effect on the masses, which, of course, was beneficial for the ruling classes.

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Introduction

Thomas Robert Malthus is a representative of the classical school of European economic science of the 18th-19th centuries. The main works that contain his most remarkable results are the “Essay on the Law of Population...” published in 1798 and the work “Principles of Political Economy” published in 1820.

1. The main stages of the biography of T.R. Malthus

Thomas Robert Malthus was born on February 14, 1766 near Dorking (Surrey). His father was an extraordinary person: he studied science, was friends and corresponded with the most prominent thinkers of that time, David Hume and Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Thomas entered one of the local institutions - Jesus College of the University of Cambridge and graduated from it in 1788. As the youngest son, T. Malthus was traditionally destined for a spiritual career. Therefore, it is no coincidence that, after graduating from college, he took holy orders. In 1793 he received an academic theological degree. In 1797-1803 he served as vicar of one of the parishes in Surrey. At the same time, the young Malthus, who always gravitated toward science, began teaching at the college in 1793 at the same time. At the same time, he devoted all his free time to the study of the problem of the relationship between economic processes and natural phenomena, which had captivated him in his youthful conversations and discussions with his father. In 1805-1834, he accepted an offer to become a professor in the department of modern history and political economy at the East India Company College, where he also served as a priest.

Continuing his scientific research, in 1815 T. Malthus published another work, “A Study on the Nature and Increase of Land Rent.” In this work, T. Malthus, based on the natural nature of rent, tried to reveal the mechanism of its formation and growth, to substantiate the significance of this type of income in the implementation of the total product produced by society. However, he expressed his final judgment on rent and some other problems of the economy somewhat later, in 1820. That year, Malthus published his main creative work, “Principles of Political Economy, Considered for Their Practical Application.” Thomas Malthus died on December 23, 1834.

Malthus's ideas had a powerful positive impact on the development of biology, firstly, through their influence on Darwin, and, secondly, through development based on them mathematical models population biology, starting with the Verhulst logistic model.

As applied to human society, Malthus's view that a decrease in population leads to an increase in average per capita income led to the formation in the 1920s of the theory of optimal population size, at which per capita income is maximized. However, at present, the theory is of little use in solving real socio-economic problems, but it is good in analytics, as it allows one to judge under- or overpopulation.

The containment of population growth was explained by natural obstacles (war, famine, pestilence), high mortality rate; preventive factor (abortion, infant mortality), reducing the birth rate. Manifestation of “poverty and vice” “Moral restrictions” - increasing the age of marriage, strict sexual abstinence before marriage. However, Malthus himself, like other people of the era, considered measures to limit birth rates to be extremely sinful. (several decades later, the Malthusians advocated birth control, justifying it with its theory). But in the first quarter of the 20th century, Malthus’s “principle of overpopulation” gave way to Keynes’s “underpopulation.” After World War II, Malthus' theory became popular again in developing countries. malthus population malthusianism

Modern followers of Malthus, neo-Malthusians, say this about modern underdeveloped countries: “The birth rate in them is high, as in agricultural countries, and the mortality rate is low, as in industrial countries, due to the medical care of more developed countries.” They believe that before helping them, the problem of birth control must be solved.

In general, Malthus's theory has demonstrated its high explanatory power in relation to pre-industrial societies, although no one questions the fact that for effective use to explain the dynamics of modern societies (even in third world countries), it needs the most serious modifications; however, on the other hand, Malthus's theory demonstrated the highest ability to adapt to such modifications and integrate into them.

Malthus's ideas were partially used by Karl Haushofer in his work on geopolitics and the theory of "living space".

2. The main provisions of Malthus’s “theory of population”

Malthus considered the problem of population without regard to any particular mode of production or social development in general. He spoke of the “law of population” as an eternal, unshakable law of nature. In his opinion, both in the world of animals and plants, and in human society, there is an immutable law of nature, which “consists in the constant desire, characteristic of all living beings, to settle down faster than is allowed by the amount of food at their disposal.”

In relation to human society, Malthus argued that population grows in geometric progression (i.e., as 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256), while the means of subsistence, in his opinion, grows in arithmetic progression (i.e. like 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9...). In two centuries, he argued, population would be to subsistence as 256 to 9; in three - as 4096 to 13, and in two thousand years this gap would be limitless and incalculable. This concept would later be called the law of diminishing returns. Doubling the number of inhabitants of the Earth, he wrote, is actually equivalent to the fact that the size of the globe has decreased by half. And the larger the population, the less cultivable land remains per person. Therefore, due to the law of diminishing returns, there is a tendency for the growth of food resources to lag behind population growth. Malthus did not substantiate the assertions he put forward in any way; he proceeded from pure assumptions, not confirmed by any factual material.

True, he cites one fact, which, however, not only does not confirm his fabrications, but exposes his dishonesty as a scientist. He talks about the doubling of the population in North America in 25 years and considers this fact to be proof that the population is growing exponentially. However, in reality, as Malthus notes, population growth does not occur unchecked. He himself notes that the thesis of doubling does not hold. It is not difficult to calculate that otherwise the population would have increased 240 times in 1000 years. That is, if in 1001 AD there were two people living on Earth, then in 2001 there would already be more than 2x1012, or two trillion people, which is approximately three hundred times higher than the actual value today.

Such reproduction, according to Malthus, is possible only under certain specific conditions, and in real life a person faces various “obstacles”, which can be classified as follows:

2. Vices: “Promiscuity, unnatural relationships, desecration of the marital bed, tricks taken to conceal the consequences of a criminal and unnatural relationship.”

3. Misfortunes: “Unhealthy occupations, hard, excessive or weather-exposed work, extreme poverty, poor nutrition of children, unhealthy living conditions in large cities, all kinds of excesses, disease, epidemic, war, plague, famine.”

In fact, this doubling of the population took place only at a certain historical stage of development and it occurred due to immigration, and not natural population growth.

Making every effort to deprive the struggle of the working class of the soil, Malthus himself openly and cynically spoke out against the vital rights of workers, against the elementary demands of human justice. He put forward the position that the working class is to blame for its poverty and that it can only reduce its poverty by limiting the birth rate. As a measure to combat population growth, Malthus proposed “moral restraint” - the abstinence of the poor from marriage. In diseases, exhausting work, hunger, epidemics, wars, which constitute a true misfortune for the working people, he saw natural means of destroying the “surplus” population.

3. Classical Malthusianism and neo-Malthusianism

Malthus's concept has undergone a certain evolution over time. Therefore, it is customary to distinguish between classical Malthusianism and its later modifications, which, in turn, exist in the form of Malthusianism, which continues the classical line, and neo-Malthusianism. The central political thesis of classical Malthusianism is the statement about the “futility” of efforts to increase people’s livelihoods, since this, according to Malthus, ultimately only increases the number of consumers.

In the twentieth century, due to the discovered inconsistency of Malthus’s “arithmetic progression” (the volume of food produced increased much faster than the population growth rate), W. Thompson (USA), G. Rajo (France), E. East (USA), K. Wit-Knudsen (Denmark) and some others, trying to defend the basic ideas of classical Malthusianism, tried to show that Malthus’s theory is not limited to “progressions”, that the main thesis of Malthusianism is precisely the “natural” nature of demographic development.

Representatives of classical Malthusianism of the second half of the twentieth century U. Vogt (USA) in the book “People! I call for salvation” (1960) and G. Boutoul (France) in the book “Overpopulation” (1964) and “Delayed Infanticide” (1970) see the only way for people to get out of the general civilization “population crisis” in speedy measures to reduce the birth rate, and They also call against the industrialization and social transformation of agriculture in developing countries. G. Taylor (USA), having made the subject of consideration “natural” obstacles to population growth, comes to the conclusion that among these factors there are no longer “traditional” means - wars, famines, epidemics. Today the emphasis has shifted towards rapid destruction environment due to the enormously increased anthropogenic pressure on it. We are talking about the “mechanism feedback“by virtue and with the help of which nature, as it were, settles scores with humanity for its excessive reproduction.

An updated version of Malthus's theory is neo-Malthusianism. In the ordinary mind, his ideas are transformed into the rejection of children in marriage. This ideological movement arose at the end of the nineteenth century in the form of so-called neo-Malthusian societies, leagues, unions, etc. If classical Malthusianism completely ignores and denies the impact of social factors on population, then in neo-Malthusianism this impact is recognized, but is equated to the impact of biological factors. For example, the American demographer J. Spengler made an attempt to “reconcile” the biological and the social in Malthusianism. His theory presents Malthus as an advocate of increased employment and even as a revolutionary. Moreover, the “revolutionary grain” of Malthusian theory is seen by Spengler in the thesis about “sexual desire,” the negative consequences of which supposedly mobilize people to eliminate the gap between the rate of population growth and the increase in food supply.

Neo-Malthusianism is not limited to pure theory; in its practical recommendations, this movement primarily highlights the biological sphere of reproduction of the human race and relegates to the background as insignificant measures to transform, increase the efficiency of the economy, and raise the standard of living of the population. Thus, neo-Malthusianism ignores the social side of the process of human reproduction. Leading modern US demographers assess the impact specifically on biological mechanism fertility, as a “main element” of strategic programs in relation to the world population, in fact ignoring the necessary social and economic transformations.

4. The role of Malthus’s theory in the formation of modern scientificConcepts

It should be noted that the solution proposed by Malthus to the problem of imbalance between consumption and food production capabilities through birth control is ineffective. The fact is that the population is growing not only due to natural growth, but also due to an increase in average life expectancy and other factors. Limiting the birth rate, combined with increasing life expectancy, leads to an aging society and a decrease in the proportion of the economically active population. And then the problems of providing pensions for a large number of elderly citizens arise, which have to be solved at the expense of the rest of society.

Apparently, the solution to the problems raised by Malthus significantly goes beyond the scope of economic theory. Malthus's theory had a great influence on the development of some scientific concepts- starting from the theory of evolution and natural selection of Charles Darwin and ending with the concept of sustainable development.

Malthus’s theory also played a significant role in the formation of the concept of the “golden billion” - this is the value that is estimated at the optimal number of people inhabiting the earth. And just for posing the question of what to do with the remaining five billion, opponents of this concept accuse Malthus of misanthropy. Meanwhile, the problem is obvious: humanity’s needs for food resources may very soon exceed the ability of the Earth’s biomass to satisfy them. As noted by N.N. Moiseev, the introduction of self-restrictions, primarily on production and consumption, becomes inevitable for humanity. In modern economic, sociological and philosophical problems, questions of human evolution as the dominant one on a planetary scale biological species are becoming increasingly important. This is primarily due to the awareness of the clearly manifested contradictions between the capabilities of the environment and those anthropogenic trends that, being embedded in the very nature of man or acquired by him in the process of centuries-old development, begin to have a global character, significantly exceeding the limit of stability of the regulatory mechanisms of the biosphere.

This range of problems was introduced into broad scientific consideration by V.I. Vernadsky, Le Roy and Teilhard de Chardin. These scientists proposed various ways to solve these problems. They are associated with the need for changes in the worldview and value orientations of humanity, in its real understanding of its responsibility for the state of the planet and awareness of its progressive influence on it. T.R. undoubtedly made his contribution to such awareness and change in worldview. Malthus.

5 . CriticismMalthusianism from the point of view of other teachings

In fact, immediately after publication, the main provisions of Malthus’s theory became the subject of discussion among researchers, public figures, and even among a lay audience. In addition to the followers of the theory, there were also its critics, some of whom were very constructive. Subsequently, specialists from various fields of science referred to Malthus’s works - from socialist economists to biologists studying the trophic chains of biocenoses. The works of Malthus had a decisive influence on the development of Darwin's theory.

The classics of Marxism gave a devastating critique of the Malthusian “law” of population and revealed its reactionary role. Marx showed that the main content of this “law” is based on the replacement of the specific socio-economic laws of capitalism with non-existent “eternal” and “immutable” laws of nature.

In contrast to Malthus, Marx proved that there is no law of population in general, that each social formation has its own specific law of population. No, and there cannot be absolute overpopulation, there is relative overpopulation as a specific feature of capitalism, generated by the action universal law capitalist accumulation. It is the action of this law, and not the laws of nature, that determines the unemployment and poverty of the working class; Marx and Lenin showed the inconsistency of transferring the laws of nature to society.

Malthus's main "argument" for the fact that the growth of subsistence sharply lags behind the growth of population was the unscientific "law" of diminishing soil fertility.

The classics of Marxism sharply criticized this “law,” showing that its supporters leave aside the most important thing, ignore the growth of the productive forces of society, the growth of production technology. Criticizing the “law” of diminishing soil fertility, V.I. Lenin proved that there is not a difficulty in obtaining food in general, but a difficulty in obtaining food for only one part of the population - for the working class, and it is entirely determined by the specific laws of capitalism, and not by the eternal laws of nature .

Marx characterized Malthus’s work “Essay on the Law of Population” as a whole as “student-superficial plagiarism...”.

Ludwig von Mises attached considerable importance to Malthus's theory and its influence on the “social theory of liberalism.” According to Mises, Malthus's theory of population is nothing more than part of the social doctrine of liberalism, “although critics constantly demonstrate a lack of understanding of this fact.” “The core of the social theory of liberalism is the theory of the division of labor. Only in close connection with it the social conditions of Malthus's law of population can be correctly explained. Society arises as a union of people for the better use of natural conditions of existence. Essentially, society is a ban on mutual destruction of people; struggle is replaced by mutual assistance; this forms the main motivation for the behavior of all members of a single organism. There should be no struggle within the boundaries of society, only peace. Any struggle, in fact, slows down social cooperation. A cohesive society-organism can eliminate the struggle for existence against hostile forces. However, from the inside, when society consists of interacting individuals, it cannot be anything other than cooperation,” notes Ludwig von Mises.

Mises goes on to give his own interpretation of Malthus's results: “Private ownership of the means of production is a regulative principle that ensures a balance between the limited number of means that society has at its disposal and the more rapidly growing number of consumers. This principle makes each individual dependent on a quota of economic product, socially reserved from the coefficient of property and labor. It is expressed in a decrease in the birth rate under the pressure of social pressure, the elimination of redundant members of society, as happens in the animal and plant kingdoms. However, the function of the struggle for existence is performed by a “moral brake” that limits offspring.”

L. von Mises also rejects the accusations of misanthropy and cruelty brought against Malthus’s theory, warning readers against incorrect conclusions: “There is not, and cannot be, a struggle for survival in society. It would be a grave mistake to draw such barbaric conclusions from the social theory of liberalism. Malthus's expressions, taken out of context and used for misinterpretations, are explained by the simple insufficiency and incompleteness of the first edition, written before the spirit of classical political economy was fully formed. It should be emphasized that before Darwin and Spencer no one could consider the struggle for existence in the modern sense of the word as a principle of behavior operating in human society.”

Despite the scientific inconsistency of the Malthusian “law” of population, it was a resounding success among the bourgeoisie and its ideologists, since highest degree satisfied their class needs. This “law” plays the most sinister role at present.

Conclusion

Recently, the active dissemination of neo-Malthusian concepts of various kinds, such as the theory of the optimum population by G. Brown, J. Bonner, the statements of G. Taylor and P. Ehrlich about population growth as the only cause of the ecological crisis, etc., is associated with accelerated population growth globe (mainly in developing countries), exacerbation environmental problem, increasing the gap in development levels between developed industrial countries and developing countries.

Within the framework of an international non-governmental organization that unites scientists, political and public figures from many countries of the world - the Club of Rome - the thesis is substantiated that by the mid-twentieth century humanity had reached the limits of exponential growth in a limited space (the first report to the Club of Rome under the leadership of D. . Meadows in 1972). In the second report to the Club of Rome by M. Mesarovic and E. Pestel, Humanity at the Turning Point (1974), one of the solution models is substantiated global problems, the concept of the development of the world system in the coordinates of limited growth. Limited growth refers to a process of structural differentiation that is significantly different from purely quantitative undifferentiated growth. The authors apply this concept to the growth of the world system by analogy with the growth (more precisely, development) of an organism, in which specialization is observed various parts organic system, and the functional interdependence between them. The need for just such an approach is determined, in their opinion, by the interdependence crisis situations: crises of overpopulation, environment, food, energy, raw materials, etc.

If by the beginning of the next century family planning will cover almost the entire population of the Earth, and if this limitation will occur at the level of 2.2-2.5 children for each married couple, then there is reason to believe that at the end of the twenty-first century there will be stabilization of the population at level of 11-12 billion people. The most important prerequisite for solving the problem of regulating population growth is deep social and spiritual transformations, the rise of the material and cultural level of peoples. At the same time, we are not talking about a forced Malthusian birth control, but about a whole series of well-thought-out measures, thanks to which population growth should accelerate in some regions and countries, and slow down somewhat in others. Dictated by the ecological imperative, the objective need for conscious regulation of population growth leads to an appeal to neo-Malthusian ideas.

List of used literature

1. Boldyrev V.A. Economic law of population under socialism. - M. - 2009.

2. Rubin Ya.I. Population theory (Malthusian and anti-Malthusian directions). - M., 2013.

3. Kostyuk V.N. History of economic doctrines. P. 15 -25, M. -Tsentr.-2011.

4. Fundamentals of population theory. M. - 2013.

5. System of knowledge about population. M. - 2009.

6. Malthus T.R. Experience on the law of population. ? Petrozavodsk, 2007.

7. Mises L. Individual, market and legal state. - St. Petersburg: Pneuma, 2012.

8. Big Soviet Encyclopedia. ? M., 2011.

9. Agadzhanyan I.A. Previously unknown signals of the dying. ? Yerevan: Nairi, 2007.

10. Yadgarov Y.S. History of economic doctrines. Textbook for universities. 3rd edition. - M.: INFRA-M, 2000.

11. Moiseev N.N. Modern anthropogenesis and civilizational fault lines. Ecological and political analysis. // Questions of philosophy. - 2005. ? No. 1.

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Malthus Thomas Robert (born 1766 - died 1834) - English clergyman, economist and demographer. In his work “Essay on the Law of Population” (1798; Russian translation, vol. 1-2, 1868) he formulated the law population, based, in his opinion, on the laws of nature, according to which the population tends to grow in geometric progression, but the means of subsistence can only increase in arithmetic progression. He recommended combating “absolute overpopulation” by regulating marriage and regulating the birth rate. His followers are currently pointing out that nature is “settling scores” with humanity for its excessive reproduction through ongoing pollution and destruction of the environment, and sometimes catastrophic effects on the feedback mechanism between nature and man.

Philosophical encyclopedic dictionary. 2010.

Malthus Thomas Robert (1766–1834), English economist, author of the first ever scientific theory population. Malthus's ideas formed the basis of the concepts of Malthusianism, in which unlimited population growth is seen as the cause of social disasters, political upheavals and environmental disasters. Based on the supposedly existing pattern of population growth in geometric progression, and means of subsistence in arithmetic progression, Malthus derived a statistical optimum of the population, at which “destructive factors” (wars, epidemics, famine, etc.) do not yet begin to act, correcting population growth . Malthus was the first to point out the possibility of negative consequences of population growth, drew attention to the problems of overpopulation, and put forward the idea of regulating the population.

Materials used from the book: Modern illustrated encyclopedia. Geography. Volume 2, M-Ya, Rosman-Press, M., 2006.

Malthus Thomas Robert (1766-1834) - English thinker, economist, priest. He became widely known thanks to the essay “An Essay on the Law of Population, or an Exposition of the Past and Present Effect of this Law on the Welfare of the Human Race.” Malthus formulated the supra-historical law of population, according to which population growth occurs in geometric progression, while the means of subsistence increase in arithmetic progression, which creates the basis for class contradictions and social problems (poverty, hunger, crime, war). The cause of overpopulation and lack of means of subsistence, according to Malthus, is rooted in the absolute and eternal laws of nature, as well as in the “excessive fertility” of the poor. Trying to justify the thesis that food production is limited, Malthus referred to the “law of diminishing returns of the soil.” He opposed government aid to the poor, which, in his opinion, only exacerbates the problem of overpopulation.

Malthus's concept has undergone a certain evolution over time. Its later modification was neo-Malthusianism, which sees the tragedy of the future of humanity in the “world crisis of overpopulation”, the consequence of which is the destruction of the environment and the ecological crisis. In this regard, representatives of neo-Malthusianism (W. Thompson, G. Rajo, E. East, etc.) call for a reduction in the birth rate in order to achieve an “optimum population”, to abandon industrialization and transform the economy of developing countries.

Kirilenko G.G., Shevtsov E.V. Brief philosophical dictionary. M. 2010, p. 206-207.

The class narrow-mindedness and callous egoism of the English ruling classes manifested themselves most sharply in the writings of Malthus, who, as Marx pointed out, made “only such conclusions as are “pleasant” (useful) for the aristocracy against the bourgeoisie and for both of them against the proletariat.”* In 1817, Malthus published a new, expanded edition of his book Essay on Population (first published in 1798), in which the poverty of the masses was explained by the imaginary “eternal laws” of nature - excessive birth rates among the working people and limited natural resources. Based on this anti-scientific, misanthropic “teaching,” Malthus justified bloody wars and sought to discredit all projects for a better social order. Malthusianism entered the arsenal of reactionary ideology, although it has been refuted by the entire course of human history and scientific data. It is used by reactionary ideologists to justify the anti-people policies of imperialist governments and to foment new wars of aggression.

Notes

* K. Marx, Theories of surplus value, part II, M. 1957, p. 111.

Quoted from the publication: World history. Volume VI. M., 1959, p. 156.

Malthus Thomas Robert (February 17, 1766, Rockery, Surrey - December 29, 1834, Bath, Somersetshire) - English economist and population theorist. Graduated from Jesus College, Cambridge (1788), parish priest, and from 1805 professor of history and political economy at the College of the East India Trading Company in Hertford, Halesbury.

Contemporaries noted the breadth of Malthus's interests in various fields of scientific research, but especially emphasized his contribution to "political philosophy" (which included his studies of population, rent, profit; his development of terminology and standards of political economy; his study of the "influence of reformations and revolutions" on customs, morality and religion that determine the “character of a nation”, etc.). Malthus's scientific and philosophical worldview was formed on the basis of the original English traditions of spiritual rationalism of the 17th and 18th centuries. (T. Hobbes, J. Locke, B. Mandeville, etc.), which became widespread in educated public circles. Malthus himself noted that the ideas of the great philosophers became established in society thanks to the widespread use of printing, political pamphlets, chronicles of parliamentary and other political discussions, which especially intensified in the last decades of the 18th century. in connection with socio-political changes in North America and France. Social utopias, ideas of political and social reorganization of human society in the future, focusing on the problems of “human rights”, “achieving general welfare”, scientific and social progress - all the main literature on these topics was conscientiously and critically analyzed by him. Malthus correlated his assessments of contemporary social and political problems with the works of D. Hume, A. Smith (especially in the development of the doctrine of the physiocrats), E. Burke (ideas, ideals and practice of the early stage of the French Revolution). Completely in the spirit of 18th century settings. Malthus believed that all systematizable social phenomena are based on natural laws.

To substantiate the “law of population” (later literally merged with his personality in both critical and apologetic works about him), Malthus used statistical data and the conclusions of his predecessors in this field of research: R. Wallace (a picture of the decline of a prosperous utopian society under the influence of population changes), Sir J. Stewart, J. Townsend and others. However, the essence, direction and purpose of the first anonymous publication of Malthus (“An Essay on the Law of Population, How It Affects the Future Improvement of Society. With Remarks to the Considerations of Mr. Godwin, M. Condorcet and other writers", London, 1798. The preface is dated June 7, 1789) is deeper and more serious than indicated in the title. Malthus put forward two postulates: 1) food (more broadly: means of life support) is necessary for humans; 2) the mutual attraction of the sexes to each other is inevitable and does not weaken throughout the entire existence of mankind (Godwin doubted the latter, on vague grounds). The growth of the means of subsistence (agricultural products) occurs more slowly (initially Malthus correlated the growth of means of subsistence and the increase in population volume so that the first increases in an arithmetic progression, while the second - in a geometric progression; later he moved away from this rigid statement) than the expanded reproduction of the population . Before the start of regular population censuses in the Western world in the 19th century. this did not seem self-evident. Many governments continued to encourage population growth. The utopians thought that the problem of hyperpopulation would become relevant only after millennia. Malthus connected with these dynamic disproportions the inevitability of the existence of poverty, its increasing corrupting pressure on the life and culture of the masses (the growth in the well-being of the state was not at all directly proportional to the increase in the well-being of each of its inhabitants). Only the elimination of relative overpopulation (Malthus did not use this term, but captured and described the essence of the phenomenon) in every state, in every geographical area, could interrupt the reproduction of poverty. He was the first to study at the theoretical, methodological and practical levels the question of forms (destructive, i.e. the actions of spontaneous natural processes and epidemics; preventive, i.e. ethnocultural measures to limit the birth rate) and means (conscious abstinence) of optimizing the birth rate. The works of Malthus allow us to speak of him as a predecessor of such scientific disciplines, such as ethnology, ecology, human geography, population statistics, sociology. Corresponding new data was included by Malthus in expanded reprints of his main work in 1803, 1806, 1807, 1817, 1826: “An Essay on the Law of Population; or an analysis of its former and present effects on human happiness; with an inquiry into our considerations for the future removal or mitigation of the evils which attend it.”

In the field of political economy, Malthus also showed himself to be an original thinker, pointing out that this “science shows greater affinity with the sciences of morals and politics than with mathematics.” His work “Principles of Political Economy” (1820) was subjected to destructive criticism by his contemporaries (D. Ricardo), but in the 20th century. he was appreciated by J.M. Keynes, who included Malthus among the most outstanding intellectual representatives English people. The works of Malthus were highly valued by J. Mill and J. S. Mill, C. Darwin, A. Wallace and others. Malthus was denounced as a plagiarist, an epigone, a “priest,” a corrupt servant of the upper classes, and a misanthrope in Marxist literature. “The abstract law of population exists only for plants and animals, until man historically invaded this area” (Marx K. Capital, vol. 1. - Marx K., Engels F. Soch., vol. 23, p. 64, etc. .).

P.M. Kozhin

New philosophical encyclopedia. In four volumes. / Institute of Philosophy RAS. Scientific ed. advice: V.S. Stepin, A.A. Guseinov, G.Yu. Semigin. M., Mysl, 2010, vol. II, E – M, p. 486-487.

Read further:

Malthusianism, sociological doctrine.

Essays:

Malthus T. Experience on the law of population. – In the book: Anthology of environmental classics. M., 1993, p. 3–134;

The Works of Thomas Robert Malthus, ed. by E. A. Wrigley, D. Souden. L, 1986, v. 1–8.

Literature:

Riccardo D. Notes to Mr. Malthus's book, "The Principles of Political Economy, Considered from the Point of View of Their Practical Application." – In the book: Riccardo D. Soch., vol. 3. M., 1955, p. 95–291;

Tugan-Baranovsky M. Essays from modern history political economy (Smith, Malthus, Ricardo, etc.). St. Petersburg, 1903, p. 62–75;

Winch D. Malthus. Oxf., N. Υ., 1987.

Thomas Robert Malthus(English) Thomas Robert Malthus, he usually omitted his middle name; 1766-1834) - English priest and scientist, demographer and economist, author of the theory according to which uncontrolled population growth should lead to famine on Earth.

His works formed the basis of “conspiracy” theories about the work of various organizations - “Club 300”, “Club of Rome”, “Bilderberg Club”, Masons, etc.

Brief biography

Thomas Malthus was born on February 13, 1766 on the Rookery estate, Dorking (English county of Surrey), near the city of Guildford, into a wealthy noble family. The scientist's father, Daniel Malthus, was a follower of David Hume and Jean-Jacques Rousseau (he knew both of them personally).

In 1784, Thomas entered Jesus College, Cambridge University, where he studied mathematics, rhetoric, Latin and Greek. After graduating from college, he was a member of the council and an adjunct professor for some time.

In 1788 he was ordained to the clergy. Church of England, which in those days did not even require formal faith in God. In 1796, he became a priest in the town of Albury (Surrey), in England at that time this meant only a government position with a modest salary and not particularly burdensome responsibilities.

In 1804, Malthus married and three children were born in this marriage.

Throughout his life, Malthus lived very modestly, not to say poorly, but consistently and fundamentally refused both high government positions that the government offered him and a church career, considering it the main work of his life. scientific work. He was elected both a Fellow of the Royal Society and a Fellow French Academy(an honor few scientists have received), became the founder of the Political Economy Club and one of the founders of the London Statistical Society.

Provisions of the theory

Three main theses of the “Essay”:

Because of man's biological ability to reproduce, his physical abilities are used to increase his food supply.
The population is strictly limited by means of subsistence.
Population growth can only be stopped by counter causes, which boil down to moral abstinence or misfortunes (wars, epidemics, famine).

Malthus also comes to the conclusion that population grows in geometric progression, and means of subsistence - in arithmetic progression.

Disadvantages of the theory with modern point view:

Malthus used incorrect migration statistics (does not take into account emigrants).
Malthus does not take into account the mechanisms of self-regulation of the human population, leading to the demographic transition. However, in the time of Malthus this phenomenon was observed only in major cities, in which a minority of the population lived, whereas at present it has covered entire continents (including all developed countries without exception).
Law of diminishing soil fertility. Malthus believed that neither capital accumulation nor scientific and technological progress compensate for the limited nature of natural resources.

At the same time, Malthus's theory quite correctly describes the patterns of economic and demographic dynamics of pre-industrial societies.

Malthus proposed starving the English poor. Everything is simple with them. People who cannot sell their labor and have not inherited wealth must die. “Nature itself commands them to leave.”

Followers and development

Malthus's ideas had a powerful positive impact on the development of biology, firstly, through their influence on Darwin, and, secondly, through the development on their basis of mathematical models of population biology, starting with the Verhulst logistic model.

The containment of population growth was explained by natural obstacles (war, famine, pestilence) and high mortality; preventive factor (abortion, infant mortality), reducing the birth rate. Manifestation of “poverty and vice” “Moral restrictions” - increasing the age of marriage, strict sexual abstinence before marriage. However, Malthus himself, like other people of the era, considered measures to limit birth rates to be extremely sinful. (several decades later, the Malthusians advocated birth control, justifying it with its theory).

But in the first quarter of the 20th century, Malthus’s “principle of overpopulation” gave way to Keynes’s “underpopulation.” After World War II, Malthus' theory became popular again in developing countries.

In general, Malthus's theory has demonstrated its high explanatory power in relation to pre-industrial societies, although no one questions the fact that in order to effectively use it to explain the dynamics of modern societies (even in third world countries), it requires the most serious modifications; however, on the other hand, Malthus's theory demonstrated the highest ability to adapt to such modifications and integrate into them.

Malthus's ideas were partially used by Karl Haushofer in his work on geopolitics and the theory of "living space".

In culture

The song is dedicated to Malthusianism, Malthus himself and food problems The Great Cull rock bands Killing Joke, released as part of their album Absolute Dissent.

Thomas was the sixth of seven children of Daniel and Henrietta Malthus. He spent his childhood in a rural house near Westcott, Surrey. Malthus studied first at home, and then at Warrington Academy.

In 1784, Thomas entered Jesus College, Cambridge. In college, Malthus excelled in Latin, Greek, English declamation, and mathematics.

In 1791, Thomas received his master's degree; six years later he was ordained and went to the village of Okewood, near Albury, Surrey.

Contemporaries described Thomas as an extremely handsome man - if not for his cleft lip and cleft palate. The last defect also somewhat affected Malthus's voice. It is also known that Thomas was very embarrassed about his physical disabilities and even refused - until 1833 - to pose for a portrait.

On April 12, 1804, Malthus married his cousin Harriet; they had three children - Henry, Emily and Lucy.

In 1805, Thomas received a position as professor of history and political economy at the East India Company College in Hertfordshire. Malthus enjoyed incredible authority and respect among college students.

Between 1798 and 1826, Malthus published six editions of his most famous work, An Essay on the Principle of Population. In new editions, Thomas included more and more new data - both obtained as a result of further research and received from numerous critics. Malthus created the first version of the text as a kind of response to his father’s overly optimistic statements about the prospects for the development and improvement of society. Thomas himself regarded the prospects for society with a certain skepticism; in his work he showed that in all past eras there was always a stratum doomed to poverty. Malthus explained this unpleasant constancy quite simply - in his opinion, main reason there was social and economic inequality; the planet's population had grown enormously; Thomas was confident that population growth would continue until, due to a lack of basic resources, human race Really serious problems won't start.

Malthus saw two solutions to the current problem - measures to increase mortality and measures to lower the birth rate. Human mortality increased greatly during wars and mass epidemics; The birth rate could easily be reduced by the legalization of abortion and prostitution, control of reproduction and the gradual popularization of late marriages. Thomas viewed more “positive” measures that were supposed to help increase the number of people who could simultaneously coexist in the world with the deepest doubt.

Best of the day

Thomas Malthus died on December 23, 1834; his body was buried in the city of Bath, in the local abbey. It should be noted that for most of his life, Thomas lived - as befits a priest - quite modestly. More than once he was given the opportunity to occupy a rather prestigious position in the government or rise up career ladder church peace; Malthus, however, ignored all these possibilities, preferring to concentrate heavily on scientific activity.

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