What is the Liberal and Marxist critique of Malthus's theory of population growth?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → That he disregarded poverty as a social problem.
Option (1) That he disregarded poverty as a social problem. — Correct. Liberal and Marxist scholars criticised Malthus for asserting that poverty was caused by population growth. They argued that poverty and starvation were caused by the unequal distribution of economic resources: an unjust social system let a privileged minority live in luxury while the majority lived in poverty. Malthus missed this social cause.
Option (2) That he only talked about positive and preventive checks. — Incorrect. Preventive checks (postponing marriage, abstinence) and positive checks (famines and diseases) are part of Malthus’s own theory. The critics’ objection was about the cause of poverty, not about the checks.
Option (3) That he did not give a detailed theory of demographic transition. — Incorrect. Demographic transition is another, separate theory of population growth. Not having proposed it is no part of the liberal and Marxist critique.
Option (4) That he failed to give a theory of population explosion. — Incorrect. The ‘population explosion’ is a stage described in the theory of demographic transition. The critics did not fault Malthus for missing it; they rejected his explanation of poverty.
NCERT (2025-26): “2.1 Some Theories and Concepts in Demography … Unfortunately, humanity has only a limited ability to voluntarily reduce the growth of its population (through ‘preventive checks’ such as postponing marriage or practicing sexual abstinence or celibacy). Malthus believed therefore that ‘positive checks’ to population growth – in the form of famines and diseases – were inevitable because they were nature’s way of dealing with the imbalance between food supply and increasing population.…” “2.1 Some Theories and Concepts in Demography … Malthus was also criticised by liberal and Marxist scholars for asserting that poverty was caused by population growth. The critics argued that problems like poverty and starvation were caused by the unequal distribution of economic resources rather than by population growth. An unjust social system allowed a wealthy and privileged minority to live in luxury while the vast majority of the people were forced to live in poverty.” |