Around 1796, Mr. Malthus, an English gentleman, had finished reading a book that confidently predicted human life would continue to grow richer, more comfortable and more secure, and that nothing could stop the march of progress. He discussed this theme with his son, Thomas, and Thomas ardently disagreed with both his father and the book he had been reading, along with the entire idea of unending human progress. Mr. Malthus suggested that he write down his objections so that they could discuss them point-by-point. Not long after, Thomas returned with a rather long essay. His father was so impressed that he urged his son to have it published. And so, in 1798, appeared An Essay on Population, by British political economist and demographer THOMAS ROBERT MALTHUS (1766-1834). Though it was attacked at the time and ridiculed for many years afterward, it has remained one of the most influential works in the English language on the general checks and balances of the world's population and its necessary control. This is a replica of the 1826 sixth edition. Volume 2 includes: Book III: "Of the Different Systems, Which Have Been Proposed or Have Prevailed in Society, As They Affect the Evils Arising from The Principle of Population" and Book IV: "Of our future Prospects respecting the Removal or Mitigation of the Evils arising from the Principle of Population."

Around 1796, Mr. Malthus, an English gentleman, had finished reading a book that confidently predicted human life would continue to grow richer, more comfortable and more secure, and that nothing could stop the march of progress. He discussed this theme with his son, Thomas, and Thomas ardently disagreed with both his father and the book he had been reading, along with the entire idea of unending human progress. Mr. Malthus suggested that he write down his objections so that they could discuss them point-by-point. Not long after, Thomas returned with a rather long essay. His father was so impressed that he urged his son to have it published. And so, in 1798, appeared An Essay on Population, by British political economist and demographer THOMAS ROBERT MALTHUS (1766-1834). Though it was attacked at the time and ridiculed for many years afterward, it has remained one of the most influential works in the English language on the general checks and balances of the world's population and its necessary control. This is a replica of the 1826 sixth edition. Volume 1 includes: Book I: "Of the Checks to the Population in the Less Civilised Parts of the World and in Past Times" and Book II: "Of the Checks to the Population in the Different States of Modern Europe."

The seminal essay on population growth by Thomas Robert Malthus is published here anew, complete and unabridged. Although wrong in its prediction of mass famine owing to population growth outpacing the growth in production of food, this essay became very influential among scientific and economic thinkers. Evolutionary science in particular appreciated the efforts of Malthus, with both Alfred Russel Wallace and Charles Darwin citing his paper as an influence on their own papers on natural selection. Malthus theorised that the fast rising numbers of people in the industrialising world would result in lowered wages, higher unemployment, and hence greater impoverishment and even famine. This idea, and others on the same theme, have acquired the term Malthusian over more than two centuries since this paper originally appeared - to this day commentators reference Malthus's themes when examining the world's rising population levels.