Malthus, On the Principle of Population On the Principle of Population Thomas Malthus Chapter 27 I say that the power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man. Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio.
Subsistence increases only in an arithmetical ratio.
A slight acquaintance with numbers will shew the immensity of the first power in comparison of the second. By that law of our nature which makes food necessary to the life of man, the effects of these two unequal powers must be kept equal. This implies a strong and constantly operating check on population from the difficulty of subsistence. Through the animal and vegetable kingdoms, nature has scattered the seeds of life abroad with the most pro- fuse and liberal hand. She has been comparatively sparing in the room and the nourishment necessary to rear them.