Debating Malthus
About This Book
Ideas about how many people the earth can support have long been bound up with beliefs about nature and with political action. This classroom reader brings together source texts that show how European and North American writers have argued over population, resources, and the natural world, from the sixteenth century to the present. Robert J. Mayhew, a biographer of Thomas Robert Malthus, edits and introduces the volume. Its centerpiece is excerpts from Malthus's Essay on the Principle of Population (1798), an influential and controversial work. Around it, the selections follow how the topic has been linked to evolution, eugenics, war, social justice, birth control, fears of environmental catastrophe, and climate change. The collection also includes responses that challenge the idea of a population crisis from other directions: radical feminist writing, Indigenous perspectives on the relationship between people and their environment, and analyses that examine race and gender together. The aim is to help students recognize the recurring patterns in these debates, so they can assess both historical arguments and current ones.
ISBN: 9780295749891
Unlock Exclusive Content
Experience the hidden layers of 'Debating Malthus'. Scan the book cover with the Appilog mobile app to see behind-the-scenes videos, author reviews, and interactive digital stories.
Available on iOS & Android






