AN ESSAY ON THE PRINCIPLE OF POPULATION, AS IT AFFECTS THE FUTUREIMPROVEMENT OF SOCIETY WITH REMARKS ON THE SPECULATIONS OF MR. GODWIN,M. CONDORCET, AND OTHER WRITERS.
LONDON, PRINTED FOR J. JOHNSON, IN ST. PAUL'S CHURCH-YARD, 1798.
The following Essay owes its origin to a conversation with a friend, onthe subject of Mr Godwin's essay on avarice and profusion, in hisEnquirer. The discussion started the general question of the futureimprovement of society, and the Author at first sat down with anintention of merely stating his thoughts to his friend, upon paper, ina clearer manner than he thought he could do in conversation. But asthe subject opened upon him, some ideas occurred, which he did notrecollect to have met with before; and as he conceived that every leastlight, on a topic so generally interesting, might be received withcandour, he determined to put his thoughts in a form for publication.
The Essay might, undoubtedly, have been rendered much more complete bya collection of a greater number of facts in elucidation of the generalargument. But a long and almost total interruption from very particularbusiness, joined to a desire (perhaps imprudent) of not delaying thepublication much beyond the time that he originally proposed, preventedthe Author from giving to the subject an undivided attention. Hepresumes, however, that the facts which he has adduced will be found toform no inconsiderable evidence for the truth of his opinion respectingthe future improvement of mankind. As the Author contemplates thisopinion at present, little more appears to him to be necessary than aplain statement, in addition to the most cursory view of society, toestablish it.
It is an obvious truth, which has been taken notice of by many writers,that population must always be kept down to the level of the means ofsubsistence; but no writer that the Author recollects has inquiredparticularly into the means by which this level is effected: and it isa view of these means which forms, to his mind, the strongest obstaclein the way to any very great future improvement of society. He hopes itwill appear that, in the discussion of this interesting subject, he isactuated solely by a love of truth, and not by any prejudices againstany particular set of men, or of opinions. He professes to have readsome of the speculations on the future improvement of society in atemper very different from a wish to find them visionary, but he hasnot acquired that command over his understanding which would enable himto believe what he wishes, without evidence, or to refuse his assent towhat might be unpleasing, when accompanied with evidence.
The view which he has given of human life has a melancholy hue, but hefeels conscious that he has drawn these dark tints from a convictionthat they are really in the picture, and not from a jaundiced eye or aninherent spleen of disposition. The theory of mind which he hassketched in the two last chapters accounts to his own understanding ina satisfactory manner for the existence of most of the evils of life,but whether it will have the same effect upon others must be left tothe judgement of his readers.
If he should succeed in drawing the attention of more able men to whathe conceives to be the principal difficulty in the way to theimprovement of society and should, in conseque