Malthus: Checks To Population

Abstract

In the quote above, Malthus is concerned about the failure of the second condition—when a society lacks the will or ability to widely provide the means of subsistence. This is the defining characteristic of the fourth world. When the production condition is also violated—which in Malthus’ day generally implied depopulation—we are in the realm of the fifth world. For Malthus, the nucleus of the principle of population was self-evident: no species can multiply beyond its means of subsistence. This is implied by the production-survival condition. That condition says: