An Essay on the Principle of Population: The Original 1798 Edition

Thomas Malthus was a mild-mannered economist who set the world afire in 1798 with this essay on the 'principle of population.' Prompted to put his thoughts down on paper in response to a work by William Godwin ("Avarice and Profusion") and other writers, such as Marquis de Condorcet and Adam Smith, the book was originally published anonymously... and for good reason. Malthus understood that the implications of his 'principle' did not align well with Christian charity.

Charles Darwin would ev...