Assertion: According to Thomas Robert Malthus, humanity is condemned to live in poverty forever.
Reason: The growth of agricultural production will always be overtaken by population growth.
Reason: The growth of agricultural production will always be overtaken by population growth.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
Malthus’s theory of population growth – outlined in his Essay on Population (1798) – was a pessimistic one. He argued that human populations tend to grow at a much faster rate than the rate at which the means of human subsistence (specially food, but also clothing and other agriculture-based products) can grow. Therefore humanity is condemned to live in poverty forever because the growth of agricultural production will always be overtaken by population growth.