Question

38. In the first edition of An Essay on Population, Malthus based his description of the potential growth of the population on data (however tenuous) from ________.

a. New England

b. the region near the University where he taught in England

c. the parts of Africa he visited as an employee of the Royal African Company

d. China

Answer 1

Answer - a) New England

Explanation - The rapidly increasing population of England encouraged by a misguided Poor Law distressed Malthus very deeply. He feared that England was heading for a disaster, and he considered it his solemn duty to warn his country-men of impending disaster.He painted a bleak picture of the countries if the population continues to rise at such an alarming speed. He opined that there will be an imbalance between population growth and the food supply According to Malthus, there are two types of 'checks' that can reduce a population's growth rate.They are -

a) Preventive checks are voluntary actions people can take to avoid contributing to the population.

b)Positive checks to population growth are things that may shorten the average lifespan, such as disease, warfare, famine, and poor living and working environments.

Malthus recommended the use of preventive checks if mankind was to escape from the unending misery. If preventive checks were not effectively used, positive checks like diseases, wars, and famines would come into operation. As a result, the population would be reduced to the level which can be sustained by the available quantity of food supply.