Malthusian

Malthusian
Malthusian Mal*thu"sian, a. Of or pertaining to the political economist, the Rev. T. R. Malthus, or conforming to his views; as, Malthusian theories. See {Malthus}. [1913 Webster]

Note: Malthus held that population tends to increase faster than its means of subsistence can be made to do, and hence that the lower classes must necessarily suffer more or less from lack of food, unless an increase of population be checked by prudential restraint or otherwise. The steadily increasing capacity of world economic systems and food production has proven this theory to be at least premature, since economic production has increased notably faster than population since the time of Malthus. The general notion that there is an ultimate limit on the ability of mankind to continue increasing food and goods in proportion to population is still held by many people, especially environmentalists, some of whom who feel that the chief limiting factor will be the inability to dispose of the waste products of industry, leading to a steady degradation of the environment in the absence of population limitation. However, even those that believe this differ widely in their estimates of when this limit will be reached. [1913 Webster +PJC]


The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.

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  • malthusian — MALTHUSIÁN, Ă, malthusieni, e, adj., s.m. şi f. Malthusianist (1, 2). [pr.: mal tu si an] – Din fr. malthusien. Trimis de claudia, 13.09.2007. Sursa: DEX 98  malthusián adj. m., s. m. (si …   Dicționar Român

  • Malthusian — Mal*thu sian, n. A follower of Malthus. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Malthusian — (n.) 1812, from the teachings of English economist Thomas R. Malthus (1766 1835), especially with regard to population increase. As an adjective by 1818. Related: Malthusianism …   Etymology dictionary

  • Malthusian — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ relating to the theory of the English economist Thomas Malthus (1766 1834) that, if unchecked, the population tends to increase at a greater rate than its means of subsistence. ► NOUN ▪ an adherent of Malthus …   English terms dictionary

  • Malthusian — [mal tho͞o′zhən, mal tho͞o′zē ən] adj. of Malthus and his theory that the world population tends to increase faster than the food supply with inevitable disastrous results unless natural restrictions, such as war, famine, and disease, reduce the… …   English World dictionary

  • Malthusian — Mal·thu·sian mal th(y)ü zhən, mȯl adj of or relating to Malthus or to his theory that population tends to increase at a faster rate than its means of subsistence and that unless it is checked by moral restraint or by disease, famine, war, or… …   Medical dictionary

  • Malthusian — adjective Etymology: Thomas R. Malthus Date: 1821 of or relating to Malthus or to his theory that population tends to increase at a faster rate than its means of subsistence and that unless it is checked by moral restraint or disaster (as disease …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Malthusian —    , MAILTHUSIANISM    Malthus became widely known for his Essay on the Principles of Population, published in 1798. The main theory of his book is that population tends to increase faster than the means to feed it. This is called the Malthusian… …   Dictionary of eponyms

  • Malthusian theory — refers to: *Malthusian catastrophe *Neo malthusianism *Malthusian *Thomas Malthus *Malthusian growth model *Overpopulation *An Essay on the Principle of PopulationRelated: *The Population Bomb *Subsistence theory of wages *Club of Rome *Risks to… …   Wikipedia

  • malthusian theory — n. Malthus theory that population increase would outpace increases in the means of subsistence; Malthusianism. See {Malthusian}. [WordNet 1.5] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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