So far as we can see at present, the Malthusian theory, even if true in the abstract and hypothetical, assumes the absence of so many factors which are always likely to be present, that it is not deserving of serious attention, except as a means of intellectual exercise. As a law of population, it is about as valuable as many of the other laws handed down by the classical economists. It is about as remote from reality as the ?economic man.? Although, this theory met with immediate and almost universal acceptance. The book in which it was developed went through five editions while Malthus was still living, and exerted a remarkable influence upon economists, sociology, and legislation during the first half of the nineteenth century. Aside from a section of the Socialists, the most important group of writers rejecting the Malthusian theory have been Catholic economists, such as Liberatore, Devas, Pesch, Antoine, etc. Being pessimistic and individualistic, the teachings of Malthus agreed thoroughly with the temper and ideas of his time. Distress was deep and general, and the political and economic theories of the day favored the policy of laissez faire.
The most notable results of the work and teaching of Malthus may be summed up like this: he contributed absolutely nothing of value to human knowledge or welfare. The facts that he described and the remedies that he proposed had long been sufficiently obvious and sufficiently known. While he emphasized and in a striking way drew attention to the possibility of general overpopulation, he greatly exaggerated it, and thus misled and misdirected public opinion. Had he been better informed, and seen the facts of population in their true relations, he would have realized that the proper remedies were to be sought in better social and industrial arrangements, a better distribution of wealth, and improved moral and religious education. As things have happened, his teaching have directly or indirectly led to a vast amount of social error, negligence, suffering, and immorality.
BibliograhyBIOGRAPHIES: THOMAS ROBERT MALTHUS (1766-1834). April,2001
http://www.blupete.com/Literature/Biographies/Philosophy/Malthus.htmThomas Malthus (1766-1834
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/history/malthus.htmlThe International Society of Malthus
http://www.igc.org/desip/malthus/Thomas Robert Malthus, 1766-1834.
http://cepa.newschool.edu/het/profiles/malthus.htmThe Victorian Web; Thomas Robert Malthus. 1995
http://65.107.211.206/victorian/economics/malthus.htmlBackground Briefing: Malthus on Population. September 4,1994
http://www.backgroundbriefing.com/poplmlth.htmlThe Victorian Web; Thomas Robert Malthus(1766-1834). 1988
http://65.107.211.206/victorian/history/Malthus.htmlThomas Malthus. August 13, 1996
http://cedar.evansville.edu/~wc203web/malthus.htmThomas Malthus:
http://zebu.uoregon.edu/~js/glossary/malthus.htmlThe Malthus Syndrome. April, 1998
http://www.kalama.com/~dgberntsen/MaltSynSum.htmReclaiming Malthus. Frank W. Elwell. November 2, 2001
http://www.faculty.rsu.edu/~felwell/Theorists/Malthus/reclaim.html