New Perspectives on Malthus

Marking the 250th anniversary of his birth, this wide-ranging, interdisciplinary study reassesses Thomas Malthus's contested achievements and legacies.

Robert J. Mayhew (Edited by)

9781107434691, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 20 December 2018

346 pages
22.8 x 15.3 x 1.5 cm, 0.43 kg

'With its many voices and many views New Perspectives on Malthus presents a clear, often brilliant light on an extensive range of Malthusian/anti-Malthusian interpretations and implications … [T]his remarkable collection of essays, each tracking distinct yet related lines of inquiry from two hundred years ago to the present, serves as a reminder that the past is never past, that ideas seldom do have boundaries.' The Wordsworth Circle

Thomas Robert Malthus (1766–1834) was a pioneer in demography, economics and social science more generally whose ideas prompted a new 'Malthusian' way of thinking about population and the poor. On the occasion of the two hundred and fiftieth anniversary of his birth, New Perspectives on Malthus offers an up-to-date collection of interdisciplinary essays from leading Malthus experts who reassess his work. Part one looks at Malthus's achievements in historical context, addressing not only perennial questions such as his attitude to the Poor Laws, but also new topics including his response to environmental themes and his use of information about the New World. Part two then looks at the complex reception of his ideas by writers, scientists, politicians and philanthropists from the period of his own lifetime to the present day, from Charles Darwin and H. G. Wells to David Attenborough, Al Gore and Amartya Sen.

List of contributors
Acknowledgements
Introduction: 'Alps on Alps arise': revisiting Malthus Robert J. Mayhew
Part I. Malthus in Historical Context: 1. Who were the pre-Malthusians? Ted McCormick
2. Malthus and Godwin: rights, utility and productivity Gregory Claeys
3. Malthus and the 'end of poverty' Niall O'Flaherty
4. Malthus and the New World Alison Bashford and Joyce E. Chaplin
5. Island, nation, planet: Malthus in the Enlightenment Fredrik Albritton Jonsson
Part II. The Reception of Malthus: 6. Malthus, women and fiction Ella Dzelzainis
7. The anti-Malthusian tradition in the Victorian evolution debates Piers J. Hale
8. Imagine all the people: fear, philanthropy and the 'peasant problem' in Asia David Nally
9. The publication bomb: the birth of modern environmentalism and the editing of Malthus's Essay Robert J. Mayhew
10. Malthus today Derek S. Hoff and Thomas Robertson
Afterword Karen O'Brien
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: Law & society [LAQ], Jurisprudence & general issues [LA], Philosophy [HP], History: specific events & topics [HBT], General & world history [HBG], History: theory & methods [HBA], History [HB], The arts: general issues [AB]