Thomas Robert Malthus is remembered for the gloomiest theory proposed in just about any discipline. The story begins in 1793, when the English journalist and philosopher William Godwin published a book called An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice. It predicted a utopian future and became a classic of philosophical anarchism.

One of its admirers was a wealthy landowner named Daniel Malthus. He debated its merits with his adult son, Thomas, a clergyman and Cambridge scholar. Few family debates end as gainfully. Thomas wrote down his counterargument, which was published in 1798 as An Essay on the Principle of Population.

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The core thesis was that any improvements in food production would quickly be overwhelmed by population growth. Advances made today would just increase the population tomorrow, meaning more mouths to feed. Since the amount of agricultural land was finite, population growth would inevitably drag most people back to bare subsistence level. Humanity was thus caught in an eternal trap.

While the data available to Malthus was severely limited, the historical record seemed to be on his side. Centuries had passed in Britain without any perceptible increase in living........

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