An Essay on the Principle of Population
In 1798, the Reverend Thomas Malthus published "An Essay on the Principle of Population", which was largely written as a refutation of the ideas of Godwin and the Marquis de Condorcet. Malthus argued that since population increases geometrically (i.e. doubling in size each generation), while production can only increase in a linear manner, then disease, famine, poverty and vice are inevitable. Consequently, Malthus criticised "Political Justice" for expounding unachieveable utopianism. In 1820 Godwin answered with "Of Population: An Enquiry Concerning the Power of Increase in the Numbers of Mankind" which disputed Malthus' population growth predictions.