Its a Malthus population presentation

1. DEPARTMENT OF GEOGRAPHY

2. POPULATION GEOGRAPHY
Submitted to: Dr. Renu Shaktawat
Submitted by: Pranjal Mehta
MA Previous Year
1st Semester

3. Topic:- Malthusian Population Theory
Malthus specifically stated that “The Human Population increase
geometrically while Food Production increases arithmetically.”

4. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to express my special thanks of gratitude to
my teacher “Dr. Renu Shaktawat” as well as our principal “
Dr. Seema Agarwal” who gave me the golden opportunity
to do this wonderful presentation on the topic :
MALTHUSIAN POPULATION THEORY which also helped
me in doing a lot of Research and I came to know about so
many new things I am really thankful to them.

5. Thomas Robert Malthus
● He was an English scholar and Influential Economist in the field of Political
Economy and Demography.
● His parents had liberal views and gave him good education. It was after
completing his studies at Cambridge that he studied religion. He had quite
happy married life.
● He gave his ideas in his “ ECONOMIC OF GEOGRAPHY” in 1798 when he was
working as a priest. His views came to be widely known to the society in “An
Essay on the Principles of Population”
● He observed that “ an increase in a nation’s food production” improved the well
being of the population, but the improvement was temporary because it lead to
population growth which in turn restored the original per capita productional
level.
● He saw with his own eyes that Industrial Revolution was making rich richer but
the poor were becoming poorer.

6. Malthusian Population Theory
● According to him both the government as well as propertied class was
supporting population growth because both had their own interests in
that.
● The government gets soldiers for the army while the propertied class
labourers at cheap rates. He felt that growing population was alone
responsible for growing Poverty, Unemployment, and Weak health of
the people resulting in the spread of diseases.
● He therefore decided to find a Theory Of Population. Sir Walter
believed that, “ The Surplus Population died not of old age or went
out of the world by the ordinary ways of nature but Famines and
contagious distempers the sword, they halter and a thousand
mischiefs have consumed them”.

7. Malthusian Population Theory
● He saw population growth as inevitable whenever conditions
improved, like if we improved the conditions people are going to
increase in numbers automatically “ The power of population is
indefinitely greater than the power in the Earth to produce
subsistence for man.
● “ The increase of population is necessarily limited by
subsistence”
● Population does invariably increase when the means of
subsistence increases”

8. ASSUMPTIONS:-
● Human Beings have a great potentialities
to produce children.
● In agriculture Law Of Diminishing Returns
operates.
● Human Beings will need food to eat.
● Passion Between sexes is necessary and
unavoidable.

9. ASSUMPTIONS:
● Rate Of Population Growth
He believed that male and
female will continue to attract
each other. It is almost difficult
to control the birth of children
when the couple meets. He
believed that population could
be expected to double itself in
25 years. According to him “
Prosperity was not to depend
on population but population
was to depend on Prosperity.”
● Rate Of Increase Of Food
Population must live on food. But
growth and increase in food is
much less than the growth in
population. He came to conclusion
that while Population was
growing by geometrical ratio food
was growing only by arithmetical
ratio that is 1:2:3:4:5:6 and so on.
He made it clear “ The table of
Nature is laid for a limited number
of guests and those who came
uninvited must starve.”

10. According to him present rates of
growth are bound to create
disequilibrium between Food and
Population and Standard of
Living, of the people is sure to
come down. This trend is surely
harmful for the society as a
whole. He also believed that Food
production could not be
increased all of sudden as and
when people liked that.
Malthusian Traps

11. Checks Of Malthusian Population Theory
PREVENTIVE CHECKS
● They are man made checks
undertaken voluntarily by
the people.
● Eg: Population policy, Late
marriages, Birth control etc.
● Population decreases
through a decrease in birth
rate.
● Can be undertaken before a
country experiences over
population.
POSITIVE CHECKS
● They are natural checks
imposed by Nature.
● Eg: Earthquakes, Volcanoes,
Floods etc.
● Population decreases
through a increase in death
rate.
● Operates in a country when
it is over populated.

12. CRITICISM OF THE THEORY
1. The validity of his 2 sets of ratios
has been questioned by his
critics. It is argued that the
population has rarely grown in
geometrical ratio and means of
production have rarely
multiplied in arithmetic
progression. Population Growth
is not always geometry series
based on historical data the
population is not get doubled in
25 years.
2. In fact in countries like India due to
Green Revolution the rate of increase
of Food Production has been greater
than the rate of population growth.
3. Malthus theory was context
specific, only limited to England.
4. Malthus gave no proof of his
assertion that population increased
exactly in geometric progression and
food production increased exactly in
arithmetic progression.

13. Criticism OF THE THEORY
5. Malthus overemphasized the
“POSITIVE CHECKS” and did
not visualize the role of “
PREVENTIVE CHECKS” like
Contraceptives and Family
Planning. Neo Malthusian
argued for the adoption of birth
control within marriage.
6. Malthus was also severely
criticized for ignoring the role
of Changing Technology and the
transformation in Socio
Economic set up of Society. He
didn’t fully appreciate the
extent to which improved
agricultural technology and
crop fertilization.

14. Malthusian and Neo Malthusianism
Malthusian
1. Malthus believed that all human beings
have sex urge but has suggested that it
should be controlled by self control.
2. He believed that population grows
more rapidly than food supplies and
that is what but natural. According to
him it was almost impossible to check
population growth.
3. He do not see any difference between
desire for sex and also the desire for
having children. In their opinion both
are one and the same.
Neo Malthusian
1. Neo Malthusians believe that with the
help of modern scientific means and the
methods it is possible to check
population growth and increase food
production as compared with
population growth.
2. They believe that there is no harm in
using contraceptives because with their
use human beings can satisfy their
sexual urgue without producing
children. They also believe that birth
control is most essential for all the
sections of the society.
3. They believe that no one should
suppress sex urgue because that is
natural.

15. Neo-Malthusian

16. Bibliography
● www.wikipedia.com
● Mohammad Izhar Hassan

17. THANK YOU