Inasmuch as this theory of Malthus has been
the storm center of sociological and economic writers for the past one
hundred years, it is worth our while to note very briefly what Malthus's
theory was, and why it is inadequate as a scientific statement of the
laws governing the growth of population.
_Malthus's Theory of Population._ In the first edition of his essay
Malthus contended that population tends to increase in geometric ratio,
while food at best will increase only in arithmetical ratio; and that
this means that constant discrepancies between population and food
supply would appear, with the result that population would have to be
cut down to food supply. Later Malthus saw how crude this statement of
his theory was and abandoned any attempt at mathematical statement,
presenting substantially the following theory: (1) Population is
necessarily limited by food; (2) Population always increases where food
increases and tends to increase faster than food; (3) The checks that
keep population down to food supply may be classified as positive and
preventive.
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