Malthusianism

In Our Time: Philosophy

BBC

History

4.5 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 22 June 2011

⏱️ 42 minutes

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Summary

Melvyn Bragg and his guests discuss Malthusianism.In the eighteenth century, as expanding agriculture and industry resulted in a rapid increase in the European population, a number of writers began to consider the implications of this rise in numbers. Some argued it was a positive development, since a larger population meant more workers and thus more wealth. Others maintained that it placed an intolerable strain on natural resources.In 1798 a young Anglican priest, the Reverend Thomas Malthus, published An Essay on the Principle of Population. Malthus argued that the population was increasing exponentially, and that food production could not keep pace; eventually a crisis would ensue. He suggested that famine, disease and wars acted as a natural corrective to overpopulation, and also suggested a number of ways in which humans could regulate their own numbers. The work caused a furore and fuelled a public debate about the size and sustainability of the British population which raged for generations. It was a profoundly influential work: Charles Darwin credited Malthus with having inspired his Theory of Natural Selection.With:Karen O'BrienPro-Vice-Chancellor for Education at the University of BirminghamMark PhilpLecturer in Politics at the University of OxfordEmma GriffinSenior Lecturer in History at the University of East Anglia Producer: Thomas Morris.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Thanks for down learning the In Our Time podcast. For more details about In Our Time and for our terms of use, please go to BBC.co.uk.
0:10.0	I hope you enjoy the program.
0:12.0	Hello, in the years after the French Revolution, an eccentric, intellectual and wealthy
0:16.4	surelandowner Daniel Malthus enjoyed friendly debates with his son Thomas, a priest
0:22.0	and Cambridge academic.
0:23.5	Daniel was a passionate admirer of William Godwin,
0:26.3	who believed in the possibility of a world of perfect human happiness and equality.
0:30.5	Thomas retorted at the rapid increase in the human population meant that Godwin's vision was hopelessly optimistic
0:36.7	and he went to the lengths of writing a book to explain why.
0:40.3	Thomas Malthus, an essay on the principal population was published in 1798 and attracted
0:46.0	both admiration and horror. Malthus argued that the size of the human population will always
0:51.4	increase more quickly than our ability to feed ourselves.
0:55.0	And he saw plague, famine and wars as natural mechanism designed to keep human numbers within
1:01.2	manageable limits.
1:02.6	The book had an immediate impact on politics and economics.
1:05.8	Malthus ideas were cited by Charles Darwin as a key influence in his theory of natural selection,
1:10.8	and they remain contentious today.
1:13.4	With me to discuss Thomas Malthus and the and Malthusianism,
1:16.9	I Karen O'Brien, Pro Vice Chancellor for Education at the University of Birmingham,
1:21.3	Mark Philip, lecturer in politics at the University of Oxford, and Emma
1:25.2	Griffin, senior lecturer in history at the University of East Angier.
1:29.2	Emma Griffin, can you give us some idea of the background to this story. Why in the latter part of the 18th century
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