Publication date 1798 The book An Essay on the Principle of Population was first published anonymously in 1798, but the author was soon identified as. The book predicted a grim future, as population would increase geometrically, doubling every 25 years, but food production would only grow arithmetically, which would result in famine and starvation, unless births were controlled. While it was not the first book on population, it was revised for over 28 years and has been acknowledged as the most influential work of its era.

Malthus's book fuelled debate about the size of the population in the and contributed to the passing of the. This Act enabled the holding of a in England, Wales and Scotland, starting in 1801 and continuing every ten years to the present. Muharrem Ahmeti 2015. The book's 6th edition (1826) was independently cited as a key influence by both and in developing the theory of. A key portion of the book was dedicated to what is now known as Malthus' Iron Law of Population. This name itself is retrospective, based on the, which is the reformulation of Malthus' position by, who in turn derived the name from 's 'great, eternal iron laws' in. This theory suggested that growing population rates would contribute to a rising supply of labour that would inevitably lower wages.

In essence, Malthus feared that continued population growth would lend itself to poverty and famine. In 1803, Malthus published, under the same title, a heavily revised second edition of his work. His final version, the 6th edition, was published in 1826.

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In 1830, 32 years after the first edition, Malthus published a condensed version entitled A Summary View on the Principle of Population, which included responses to criticisms of the larger work. Contents • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Overview [ ] Between 1798 and 1826 Malthus published six editions of his famous treatise, updating each edition to incorporate new material, to address criticism, and to convey changes in his own perspectives on the subject.

He wrote the original text in reaction to the optimism of his father and his father's associates (notably Rousseau) regarding the future improvement of society. Malthus also constructed his case as a specific response to writings of (1756–1836) and of the (1743–1794). Part of 's table of in England 1780-1810, from his An Essay on the Principle of Population, 6th edition, 1826 Malthus regarded ideals of future improvement in the lot of humanity with scepticism, considering that throughout history a segment of every human population seemed relegated to poverty. He explained this phenomenon by arguing that population growth generally expanded in times and in regions of plenty until the size of the population relative to the primary resources caused distress: 'Yet in all societies, even those that are most vicious, the tendency to a virtuous attachment is so strong, that there is a constant effort towards an increase of population. This constant effort as constantly tends to subject the lower classes of the society to distress and to prevent any great permanent amelioration of their condition'.