Malthusian

4 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Malthusian \Mal*thu"sian\, n.
     A follower of Malthus.
     [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:



  Malthusian \Mal*thu"sian\, a.
     Of or pertaining to the political economist, the Rev. T. R.
     Malthus, or conforming to his views; as, Malthusian theories.
     See {Malthus}.
     [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: Malthus held that population tends to increase faster
           than its means of subsistence can be made to do, and
           hence that the lower classes must necessarily suffer
           more or less from lack of food, unless an increase of
           population be checked by prudential restraint or
           otherwise. The steadily increasing capacity of world
           economic systems and food production has proven this
           theory to be at least premature, since economic
           production has increased notably faster than population
           since the time of Malthus. The general notion that
           there is an ultimate limit on the ability of mankind to
           continue increasing food and goods in proportion to
           population is still held by many people, especially
           environmentalists, some of whom who feel that the chief
           limiting factor will be the inability to dispose of the
           waste products of industry, leading to a steady
           degradation of the environment in the absence of
           population limitation. However, even those that believe
           this differ widely in their estimates of when this
           limit will be reached.
           [1913 Webster +PJC]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  Malthusian
       adj : of or relating to Thomas Malthus or to Malthusianism;
             "Malthusian theories"
       n : a believer in Malthusian theory

From THE DEVIL'S DICTIONARY ((C)1911 Released April 15 1993) [devils]:

  MALTHUSIAN, adj.  Pertaining to Malthus and his doctrines.  Malthus
  believed in artificially limiting population, but found that it could
  not be done by talking.  One of the most practical exponents of the
  Malthusian idea was Herod of Judea, though all the famous soldiers
  have been of the same way of thinking.