A Commentary on Malthus' 1798 Essay on Population
As Social Theory
The S
By Frank W. Elwell
|
"One of Elwell's main points is
often overlooked by readers of Malthus, and perhaps more
in the last few decades than earlier. That is that
Malthus made no forecasts. His theory was a theory, a
statement of the "If X, then Y" type, not a forecast.
The fact that he is often treated as a forecaster is a
misuse of his work. Elwell argues cogently that the
widespread belief that social sciences borrowed the
concept of evolution from biology is a misconception.
Rather the social scientists of the day were much
concerned with the factors governing long term trends in
soical conditions. It is certainly a central part of
Malthus' work.
--James F. Thompson, Emeritus
Professor of Economics
|
The book is a commentary on Malthus’ 1798 Essay
on Population that attempts to tie the interpretation closely to the
original Essay rather than to the politically charged reactions to that
Essay. Malthus' master work is not a simplistic projection of future
population growth and inevitable collapse, the Essay is actually a far
subtler ecological-evolutionary social theory. Malthus’ theory is fundamentally
based on the relationships between population and food production. Increase the
supply of food, he argues, and population will rise to meet this increase. This,
he asserts, means that the race between population and resources can never be
truly won by any sociocultural system. Therefore, some measure of social
inequality is inevitable in all human societies.
The work includes commentary and criticism of
Malthus’ methodology, the materialist, evolutionary, and
functional elements of his theory, as well as the application of his theory to
understanding the nature of welfare programs and possibilities for social
progress.
Table of Contents:
Table of contents: Preface; Introduction Part 1: Malthusian Theory Methods;
Theory, Materialism; Checks; Evolution; Functionalism; Inequality; Theoretical
Summary Part 2: Applying the Theory Poor Laws; Progress; Neo-Malthusianism Part
3: An Essay on the Principle of Population: As it affects the future improvement
of society with remarks on the speculations of Mr. Godwin and M. Condorcet, and
other writers by T. Robert Malthus Bibliography; Index
Mellen Studies in Sociology Number 26
ISBN10: 0-7734-7669-5 ISBN13: 978-0-7734-7669-1
Pages: 324 Year: 2001
Related sites:
Classical Theorists
In the Classical Tradition
Elwell's
Homepage
©Frank Elwell Send comments to felwell at rsu.edu