Malthus on Indolence

Abstract

It is common knowledge that Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834) regarded excessive population growth as a major impediment to human welfare and happiness, and that his recommended remedy for over-population was 'prudential restraint', or the deferment of marriage until there are reasonable prospects of being able to support the children of the marriage. He recognized that prudential restraint would be a difficult virtue to attain, and that 'moral restraint', i.e. prudential restraint combined with sexual abstinence before marriage, would be even more difficult, and that therefore the universal practice of prudential or moral restraint is unlikely to be a realistic possibility.