What did thomas malthus say or believe and what did he predict?

Answer 1

Thomas Malthus believed that nothing could improve the condition of the working class. He predicted that the population would eventually outstrip the food supply because the human population grows geometrically, while the food supply only expands arithmetically. Thus, he believed that only ways to avert disaster were through late marriage, chastity, and contraception (thought he considered contraception a vice). Malthus also believed and predicted that the immediate plight of the working class could only worsen because if wages were raised, workers would have more children, who would consume more food as well as extra wages. In his later life, Malthus took on the more optimistic belief and prediction that the workers' wages could be spent on consumer goods rather than on producing more children if they were persuaded to adopt a higher standard of living.