Progress and Poverty

Thomas Malthus (1766-1834) was a well-known British demographer and economist. Malthus’s theory of the relationship between population growth and the limits of food supply left a tremendous impact on the thinking of his time.

Born in Surrey, England, Malthus received his undergraduate and graduate education at Jesus College, Cambridge between 1784 and 1791. He was also ordained in the Church of England. Malthus went on to teach history and political economy at a college in Haileybury, Hertfordshire in 1805 and became a fellow in the Royal Society in 1821. He had a lasting friendship with economist David Ricardo.

Malthus’s publications include The Crisis (1796), An Essay on the Principle of Population as It Affects the Future Improvement of Society, with Remarks on the Speculations of Mr. Godwin, M. Condorcet, and Other Writers (1798), and Principles of Political Economy Considered with a View to Their Practical Application (1820).

Malthus was concerned with the question of poverty and made suggestions about alleviating it. However, in his work, he ultimately argued that the human population will always be limited by food supply and suggested such solutions as abstinence. The criticism of his work by those like Henry George usually involves citing his failure to account for the agricultural revolution linked to the technological developments of the Industrial Revolution.

John Stuart Mill (1806-1873) was a British philosopher, economist, and Member of Parliament. He is best known as one of the key philosophers of classical Liberalism.

Born in London, Mill received his education at home from his father. There, he focused on Latin, Greek, mathematics, philosophy, and history. Between 1836 and 1856, Mill led the British East India Company relations with the Indian subcontinent and was the chief of the examiner’s office thereafter. In the late 1860s, he was rector of St. Andrews University. At the same time, he was the Member of Parliament for Westminster until 1868.

Mill was a prolific writer. His major publications include A System of Logic (1843), Essays on Some Unsettled Questions of Political Economy (1844), The Principles of Political Economy: with Some of Their Applications to Social Philosophy (1848), On Liberty (1859), Utilitarianism (1863) and The Subjection of Women (1869). His work focused on key questions of classical Liberalism and Utilitarianism. Mill supported the abolition of slavery in the U.S. and was an advocate for women’s rights. 

David Ricardo (1772-1823) was an influential British political economist known as an economics system-builder. His most famous book is Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (1817).

Ricardo was of Sephardic Jewish descent but converted to Unitarian Protestantism, having moved from the Netherlands to England. He was in business with his father and was a member of the London Stock Exchange. Eventually, Ricardo acquired a fortune that allowed him to focus on his interests. He was influenced by Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations (1776) but also developed his own ideas.

Ricardo wrote The High Price of Bullion, a Proof of the Depreciation of Bank Notes (1810), Essay on the Influence of a Low Price of Corn on the Profits of Stock (1815), and Principles of Political Economy and Taxation (1817). He generally endorsed a laissez-faire approach to economic relations. In his works, Ricardo discussed taxation, wages, profit, and monetary and banking questions.

Adam Smith (1723-1790) was a Scottish political economist and one of the most important contributors to the history of economic thought in general. Smith is best known for his study, An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations (1776).

Born outside Edinburgh, Smith graduated from the University of Glasgow and studied at Balliol College in Oxford. The Enlightenment had a significant impact on his thinking. In 1751, Smith started teaching logic at Glasgow, then moral philosophy.

In addition to the famous The Wealth of Nations, Smith’s other publications include The Theory of Moral Sentiments (1759), Lectures on Justice, Police, Revenue, and Arms (1763), and Essays on Philosophical Subjects (1795). His works on moral philosophy examine several important questions of the time, such as the relationship between human nature, moral judgments, and self-interest. The balance between self-interest and the common good is one of the key features of his work in political economy.