Malthus on Godwin's of population

Abstract

A number of the issues raised by Godwin in his Enquiry Concerning Political Justice recur in subdued form in Of Population. These are issues that Malthus himself considered only to interpret them differently. Most outstanding of the points of difference between the two were: (1) the augmentability of the food supply, which Malthus put far below Godwin's estimate; (2) the rate of growth of population which Godwin believed to be negligible and Malthus to be potentially great; (3) man's disposition to control his numbers when necessary, regarding which Godwin was much more optimistic than Malthus; (4) the interpretation each put upon the constraining role of institutions. The two men had more in common than is usually assumed. © 1971 Population Association of America.