Thomas Malthus

Economics British 1766 – 1834 99 quotes

Known for his theory that population growth tends to outstrip food supply, leading to poverty and misery.

Quotes by Thomas Malthus

The desire of bettering our condition, and the fear of worse, are the two great springs of human action.

An Essay on the Principle of Population (2nd Edition) 1803

The poor laws of England tend to depress the general condition of the poor.

An Essay on the Principle of Population (2nd Edition) 1803

The market price of labour is determined by the demand and supply of labour.

Principles of Political Economy 1820

The value of a commodity is determined by the quantity of labour required to produce it.

Principles of Political Economy 1820

The accumulation of capital is a necessary condition of the progress of society.

Principles of Political Economy 1820

The interest of the landlord is always opposed to the interest of every other class in the community.

An Inquiry into the Nature and Progress of Rent 1815

Rent is that portion of the produce of the earth which is paid to the landlord for the use of the original and indestructible powers of the soil.

An Inquiry into the Nature and Progress of Rent 1815

The corn laws are injurious to the general interests of the country.

An Inquiry into the Nature and Progress of Rent 1815

The true cause of the high price of corn is the scarcity of land.

An Inquiry into the Nature and Progress of Rent 1815

The progress of society depends upon the accumulation of capital and the increase of population.

Principles of Political Economy 1820

The demand for labour depends upon the quantity of capital employed in the production of commodities.

Principles of Political Economy 1820

The rate of profit depends upon the proportion which the capital employed bears to the produce obtained.

Principles of Political Economy 1820

The tendency of profits to fall is a necessary consequence of the progress of society.

Principles of Political Economy 1820

The accumulation of capital is limited by the extent of the market.

Principles of Political Economy 1820

The progress of society is not always attended with an increase of happiness.

Principles of Political Economy 1820

The true measure of the wealth of a nation is the quantity of its annual produce.

Principles of Political Economy 1820

The most important cause of the wealth of nations is the division of labour.

Principles of Political Economy 1820

The natural price of labour is that price which is necessary to enable the labourers, one with another, to subsist and to perpetuate their race, without either increase or diminution.

Principles of Political Economy 1820

The market price of labour may deviate considerably from its natural price.

Principles of Political Economy 1820

The increase of population is a powerful stimulus to industry.

Principles of Political Economy 1820