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POPULATION THEORIES
NATURAL LAW THEORIES|SOCIAL THEORIES

Natural Law Theories Social Theories

➢ Thomas Robert Malthus ➢ Henry George

➢ Michael Thomas Sadler ➢ Arsene Dumont
➢ Thomas Doubleday ➢ David Ricardo
➢ Herbert Spencer ➢ Karl Heinrich Marx
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Natural Law Theories:

Theory of Malthus:

➢ The first scholar to propound a theory on population

based on natural law.
➢ British professor of History and Economics (1766-1834)
➢ His theory was based on the study of West European
countries.
➢ Two core principles of Malthus’ theory:
o Food is vital for the existence of humans.
o The passion between the sexes is not only necessary
but will also remain in the present stage.
➢ Malthus was in favour of capitalistic set-up. (Rich will grow
richer and the poor, poorer.)
➢ The widening gap between population and resources will
lead to intervention of natural laws.
➢ The nature will intervene with positive checks and the
society will try to maintain the balance through preventive
checks.
➢ Positive checks are such as disease, hunger, luxury, war
etc.
➢ Preventive checks are such as family planning, delayed
marriages and moral restraint which reduce the birth rate.
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Natural Law Theories:

Theory of Sadler:

➢ British economist (1780-1835)

➢ Inverse relationship between human’s tendency to
increase population and existing population density.
➢ According to Sadler, population would grow only up to
a point where it has secured the utmost degree of
happiness for the largest possible number of humans.
➢ After that point, any tendency to increasing density
would lead to decreasing tendency to increase
population.

Theory of Doubleday:

➢ British economist (1790-1870)

➢ According to him, Increase in human population
was inversely related to food supply.
➢ This means that places where there was better
food supply would show slow increase in
population.
➢ A constant population increase can be seen in
places with worst food supplies, That is, the
poorest people.
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Natural Law Theories:

Theory of Spencer:

➢ A British philosopher. (1820-1903)

➢ According to him, the reproductive interest and
capacity of individuals shall decline with their
personal advancement as the later would claim
more of their time and energy.
➢ Nature would weaken Human’s interest in
reproduction and make them devote more
time for personal, scientific and economic
development.
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Social Theories:

Theory of Henry George :

➢ American economist (839-1897)

➢ He was against natural law theories. hey an increase in
the human population involved increasing his food as
well.
➢ The threat to existence of human is not from the
ordinances of nature but from social maladjustments.

Theory of Dumont:

➢ Social capillarity.
➢ Hey the tendency among people to reach higher
level socially. This tendency prevents rapid
reproduction by man.
➢ In areas were individual ambition does not develop
much, high birth rates continue.
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Social Theories:

Theory of Ricardo :

➢ Normative model of market system.

➢ According to Ricardo, increase the demand for
Labour resulted in increased wages but with
increase in supply of Labour, there would be a
fall in wages. Ultimately, the wages shall settle
at a natural wage governed by cost of
subsistence.
➢ According to Ricardo, misery and poverty are
inevitable in the natural circumstances.

Theory of Karl Marx:

➢ Communist method of production.

➢ according to Marx, poverty and misery could be
got rid off and were not a natural inevitability.
➢ The birth and death rates and family size are
inversely correlated with the wage levels.