Author : Malthus T.R.
What is it about : The first version of this classic work on the many aspects, theories and practical "checks" on the topic of human population was published in 1798. The all-round philosopher, economist and politician presented his views on labor, social welfare, agriculture, industrial ventures and his rebuttal to the many on-going economics-thoughts and philosophies that were in vogue at the time; these fashionable ideas included the "perfectability" of the human species, conjectures concerning the progress of the human mind. The ideas, theories, arguments and government Bills, put forward by the likes of Pitt, Adam Smith, Godwin, Condorcet were torn apart mercilessly. The Author established himself as a giant in this field as hereafter, Malthusian concerns had been often debated whenever plague, famine and endemics ran wild on our fragile Earth.
Some thoughts after having read the book : Truly an all-time Classic with the capital letter C. This version of the book was presented in a style of English that was prevalent almost 300 hundred years ago, so it was tough going for the readers to grasp the sheer English-ness of the essays. The essays were peppered with examples and illustrations taken from far afield of China, the United States of America as well as cases coming from closer to home, of the introduction of the Poor Bill, the Adam Smith's scenario of industrial revenue against the trends of labor movements. Interestingly, when viewed from our standpoint of the modern world of Genome, space exploration, gene therapy, organ transplant, Malthus might have been too short-sighted (or perhaps not enough qualified in the field of general Science) when he argued against such ideas as "organ perfectability", "indefinite prolongation of human life". What would he think now ? Of a particular note - I thoroughly appreciated the style of how Malthus constructed his attack and defense in his lines of arguments.
Would I recommend this book to you : Be prepared for a tough ride as the readers would find the English impossibly painful, the arguments almost irrelevant to our modern age of iphone, speed dating and mass consumerism. But also be prepared for the reward of having struggled through this "Malthusian" monumental works and having the satisfaction of knowing a totally different world and society that existed 300 years ago; and also the fact that the Malthusian concerns, arguments and debates would still strike a chord this very day, when the human societies could still not find adequate solutions to food crisis, the spread of virus and social (un)fairness.
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