ABSTRACT
An English philosopher, Mr. Malthus, who combines strength and breadth of knowledge with a conscientious study of facts, and who is moved in his inquiries by a strong sense of compassion, has first awakened public attention to the calamities to which a superabundant population, struggling with extreme misery, was exposed. The nobility has everywhere possession of adequate subsistence; it ought to multiply then, till its descendants are reduced to extreme penury. Yet, this is precisely the opposite of what happens; in all countries of the world the old families can be seen to die out after the passage of a certain number of generations, and the nobility is ever replenished by recruits from commoners. With respect to the bounty of nature, Sismondi is an optimist, Malthus a pessimist; with respect to social organization Sismondi is a historical relativist, and Malthus takes a natural-law position.
