AP European History : Commerce; Economics; Market Competition
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Example Question #121 : Social And Economic History
Thomas Malthus’ Essay on the Principle of Population suggests that __________.
The government should intervene to keep the population of the poor in check
Human reproduction operates on an exponential level
All of the other answers are correct
As the population increases the standard of living for the population will decrease
All of the other answers are correct
Thomas Malthus wrote his famous work An Essay on the Principle of Population in 1798, and it quickly came to have a profound effect on the government policies of Western European countries and the development of several ideas, such as the theory of natural selection. It states that population will naturally increase at a greater rate than the ability of that population to sustain itself—essentially, that unchecked population growth will lead to poverty and a lower standard of living. Malthus based his theory, in part, on his belief that human reproduction operates on an exponential model whereas production operates on an arithmetic model. The British government in particular during the Industrial Revolution took Malthusian theories to heart and attempted to limit the growth of the working class.
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