Which of the following statements is incorrect for the Malthusian Theory of Population Growth?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Malthus said/argued that we can control the population through ‘geometric checks’ and ‘arithmetic check’
Option (1) Malthus’s theory of population growth was a pessimistic one — True. Malthus held that humanity is condemned to live in poverty forever, because population will always grow faster than food, so his theory was a pessimistic one.
Option (2) Malthus said/argued that we can control the population through ‘geometric checks’ and ‘arithmetic check’ — False. ‘Geometric’ and ‘arithmetic’ are not checks at all; they describe rates of growth. Population rises in geometric progression (2, 4, 8, 16, 32) while agricultural production grows only in arithmetic progression (2, 4, 6, 8, 10). The checks Malthus spoke of were ‘preventive checks’, such as postponing marriage or practising abstinence, and ‘positive checks’, such as famines and diseases.
Option (3) Malthus’s theory was outlined in Essay on Population — True. Malthus outlined his theory of population growth in his Essay on Population (1798).
Option (4) Malthus argued that the growth of agricultural production will be overtaken by population growth — True. Human populations tend to grow faster than the means of subsistence, so the growth of agricultural production will always be overtaken by population growth.
NCERT (2025-26): “The Malthusian Theory of Population Growth … Among the most famous theories of demography is the one associated with the English political economist Thomas Robert Malthus (1766–1834). Malthus’s theory of population growth – outlined in his Essay on Population (1798) – was a rather 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. While population rises in geometric progression (i.e., like 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc.), agricultural production can only grow in arithmetic progression (i.e., like 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, etc.). Because population growth always outstrips growth in production of subsistence resources, the only way to increase prosperity is by controlling the growth of population. 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.…” |