Misunderstood Malthus: The English thinker whose name is synonymous with doom and gloom has lessons for today
- Written by Roy Scranton, Associate Professor of English, University of Notre Dame
 A portrait of Thomas Malthus by John Linnell.Wellcome Collection via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY
A portrait of Thomas Malthus by John Linnell.Wellcome Collection via Wikimedia Commons, CC BYNo one uses “Malthusian” as a compliment. Since 1798, when the economist and cleric Thomas Malthus first published “An Essay on the Principles of Population,” the “Malthusian” position – the idea that humans are...










