CUET Preparation Today
Which of the following assumptions is most fundamental to Malthus's prediction that poverty would persist across generations? |
The rate of growth of subsistence resources can eventually exceed the rate of population growth. Population growth and food production follow identical patterns of increase. Population tends to grow more rapidly than the means of subsistence. Technological innovation inevitably eliminates scarcity. |
Population tends to grow more rapidly than the means of subsistence. |
The correct answer is Option 3: Population tends to grow more rapidly than the means of subsistence. The entire Malthusian argument rests on the claim that population increases at a faster rate than food and other subsistence resources. Because population growth continuously places pressure on available resources, poverty and deprivation become recurring features of society. Without this assumption, his prediction of inevitable poverty collapses. |
