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Thomas Malthus
Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834) was a British political economist and scholar, known for his theories on population and food supply. In 1798, Malthus published AN ESSAY ON THE PRINCIPLE OF POPULATION AS IT AFFECTS THE FUTURE IMPROVEMENT OF SOCIETY. In his first edition, published anonymously, he articulates his base postulates: "Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio. Subsistence only increases in an arithmetical ratio." . Building on these questionable claims, he further asserts that these patterns of growth are inevitable, and would lead to starvation among humans, such that self-imposed, strategic limits on human reproduction are necessary for the improvement of human society.

In his 3rd edition, Malthus provides clarity on his strategy, advocating policies to proactively shape mortality rates among the poor. Beyond denying charitable support, he argues for dense, crowded accommodations, situated near "stagnant pools" and "marshy and unwholesome situations." He further suggests withholding treatments for preventable diseases and to "court the return of the plague." Malthus argued, as a fellow of Jesus College, Cambridge, that such measures were in "hope of bettering our condition, and the fear of want, rather than want itself, that is the best stimulus to industry." While advocating policies to increase mortality, Malthus opposed contraception, which he found immoral. He revised his treatise on population throughout his career, with six editions that would more than double its size and add second and third volumes.

Malthus and his peers applied these principles with noted effect during his lifetime, realizing policies to deny public assistance to the poor, and limit availability of vaccines for preventable diseases such as rubella, a leading cause of mental retardation in that era. Although Malthus actively opposed chattel slavery, his economic theories were applied by both sides of the slavery debate, in the United States as well as Britain.

Malthus wrote plainly of his view of the Irish: "The quiet and peaceable habits of the instructed Scotch peasant, compared to the turbulent disposition of the ignorant Irishman, ought not to be without effect on every impartial reasoner." His 1817 correspondence to colleague David Ricardo was prescient, writing of the Irish "a great part of the population should be swept from the soil." During the Irish Potato Famine, Sir Charles Trevelyan, a student of Malthus, was responsible for administrative oversight of aid to the poor. Trevelyan, who shared Malthus' views, restricted food aid to the Irish, while of the Scottish he wrote in 1846 that "the people must not, under any circumstances, be allowed to starve," Both Scotland and Ireland saw significant emigration during the period, but mortality was minimal in Scotland, while in Ireland over a million died.

The influence of Malthus was widely recognized in the Eugenics movement, both as it emerged as accepted science and following its condemnation subsequent to World War II. Duggan discusses the influence of Malthus on Eugenics, recognizing how Eugenics accepts Malthus' purpose while substituting "rational selection" for "natural selection". The first issue of The Annals of Eugenics recognized Malthus with a feature portrait. Modern scholars further recognize the influence of Malthus' theories on Eugenics. Malthus is also acknowledged for the role of his theories in Social Darwinism. Modern scholars continue to note the influence of Malthus on these core themes of racist pseudoscience.