Thefirsteditionoftheworkwhichachievedthisresultappearedanonymouslyin1798underthetitle——AnEssayonthe
PrincipleofPopulation，asitaffectsthefutureimprovementofSociety，withremarksonthespeculationsofMrGodwin，
M。Condorcet，andotherwriters。Thisbookaroseoutofcertainprivatecontroversiesofitsauthorwithhisfather，Daniel
Malthus，whohadbeenafriendofRousseau，andwasanardentbelieverinthedoctrineofhumanprogressaspreachedby
CondorcetandotherFrenchthinkersandbytheirEnglishdisciples。ThemostdistinguishedofthelatterwasWilliam
Godwin，whoseEnquiryconcerningPoliticalJusticehadbeenpublishedin1793。Theviewsputforwardinthatworkhad
beenrestatedbyitsauthorintheEnquirer（1797），anditwasontheessayinthisvolumeentitled\"AvariceandProfusion\"
thatthediscussionbetweenthefatherandthesonarose，\"thegeneralquestionofthefutureimprovementofsociety\"being
thusraisedbetweenthem——theelderMalthusdefendingthedoctrinesofGodwin，andtheyoungerassailingthem。Thelatter
\"satdownwithanintentionofmerelystatinghisthoughtsonpaperinaclearermannerthanhethoughthecoulddoin
conversation，\"andtheEssayonpopulationwastheresult。
ThesocialschemeofGodwinwasfoundedontheideathattheevilsofsocietyarisefromthevicesofhumaninstitutions。
Thereismorethanenoughofwealthavailableforall，butitisnotequallyshared:onehastoomuch，anotherhaslittleor
nothing。Letthiswealth，aswellasthelabourofproducingit，beequallydivided;theneveryonewillbymoderateexertion
obtainsufficientforplainliving;therewillbeabundantleisure，whichwillbespentinintellectualandmoral
self—improvement;reasonwilldeterminehumanactions;governmentandeverykindofforcewillbeunnecessary;and，in
time，bythepeacefulinfluenceoftruth，perfectionandhappinesswillbeestablishedonearth。Totheseglowinganticipations
Malthusopposesthefactsofthenecessityoffoodandthetendencyofmankindtoincreaseuptothelimitoftheavailable
supplyofit。Inastateofuniversalphysicalwell—being，thistendency，whichinreallifeisheldincheckbythedifficultyof
procuringasubsistence，wouldoperatewithoutrestraint。Scarcitywouldfollowtheincreaseofnumbers;theleisurewould
soonceasetoexist;theoldstruggleforlifewouldrecommence;andinequalitywouldreignoncemore。IfGodwin’sideal
system，therefore，couldbeestablished，thesingleforceottheprincipleofpopulation，Malthusmaintained，wouldsufficeto
breakitdown。
Itwillbeseenthattheessaywaswrittenwithapolemicalobject;itwasanoccasionalpamphletdirectedagainsttheutopias
oftheday，notatallasystematictreatiseonpopulationsuggestedbyapurelyscientificinterest。Asapolemic，itwas
decidedlysuccessful;itwasnodifficulttasktodisposeoftheschemeofequalitypropoundedbyGodwin。Already，in1761，
Dr。RobertWallacehadpublishedawork（whichwasamongstthoseusedbyMalthusinthecompositionofhisessay）
entitledVariousProspectsofMankind，Nature，andProvidence，inwhich，afterspeakingofacommunityofgoodsasa
remedyfortheillsofsociety，heconfessedthathesawonefatalobjectiontosuchasocialorganization，namely，\"the
excessivepopulationthatwouldensue。\"WithCondorcet’sextravagances，too，Malthuseasilydealt。Thateminentman，
amidstthetempestoftheFrenchRevolution，hadwritten，whilstinhidingfromhisenemies，hisEsquissed’untableau
historiquedel’esprithumain。Thegeneralconceptionofthisbookmakesitsappearanceanepochinththistoryoftheriseof
sociology。Init，ifweexceptsomepartialsketchesbyTurgot，（36）isforthefirsttimeexplainedtheideaofatheoryofsocial
dynamicsfoundedonhistory;anditsauthorisonthisgroundrecognizedbyComteashisprincipalimmediatepredecessor。
ButintheexecutionofhisgreatprojectCondorcetfailed。Hisnegativemetaphysicspreventhisjustlyappreciatingthepast，
andheindulges，atthecloseofhiswork，invaguehypothesesrespectingtheperfectibilityofourrace，andinirrational
expectationsofanindefiniteextensionofthedurationofhumanlife。Malthusseemstohavelittlesenseofthenoblenessof
Condorcet’sattitude，andnoappreciationofthegrandeurofhisleadingidea。Butofhischimericalhopesheisabletomake
shortwork;hisgoodsense，ifsomewhatlimitedandprosaic，isatleasteffectualindetectingandexposingutopias。
Theprojectofaformalanddetailedtreatiseonpopulationwasanafter—thoughtofMalthus。Theessayinwhichhehad
studiedahypotheticfutureledhimtoexaminetheeffectsoftheprinciplehehadputforwardonthepastandpresentstateof
society;andheundertookanhistoricalexaminationoftheseeffects，andsoughttodrawsuchinferencesinrelationtothe
actualstateofthingsasexperienceseemedtowarrant。Theconsequenceofthiswassuchachangeinthenatureand
compositionoftheessayasmadeit，inhisownlanguage，\"anewwork。\"Thebook，soaltered，appearedin1803underthe
title，AnEssayonthePrincipleofPopulation，oraViewofitsPastandPresentEffectsonHumanHappiness;withan
Enquiryintoourprospectsrespectingthefutureremovalormitigationoftheevilswhichitoccasions。
Intheoriginalformoftheessayhehadspokenofnocheckstopopulationbutthosewhichcameundertheheadeitherof
viceorofmisery。Henowintroducesthenewelementofthepreventivechecksuppliedbywhathecalls\"moralrestraint，\"
andisthusenabled，ashehimselfsaid，to\"softensomeoftheharshestconclusions\"atwhichhehadbeforearrived。The
treatisepassedthroughfiveeditions（37）inhislifetime，andinallofthemheintroducedvariousadditionsandcorrections。
Thatof1817isthelasthefullyrevised，andpresentsthetextsubstantiallyasithassincebeenreprinted。
Notwithstandingthegreatdevelopmentwhichhegavetohiswork，andthealmostunprecedentedamountofdiscussionto
whichitgaverise，itremainsamatterofsomedifficultytodiscoverwhatsolidcontributionhehasmadetoourknowledge，
norisiteasytoascertainpreciselywhatpracticalprecepts，notalreadyfamiliar，hefoundedonhistheoreticprinciples。This
twofoldvaguenessiswellbroughtoutinhiscelebratedcorrespondencewithSenior，inthecourseofwhichitseemstobe
madeapparentthathisdoctrineisnewnotsomuchinitsessenceasinthephraseologyinwhichitiscouched。Hehimself
tellsusthatwhen，afterthepublicationoftheoriginalessay，themainargumentofwhichhehaddeducedfromHume，
Wallace，AdamSmith，andPrice，hebegantoinquiremorecloselyintothesubject，hefoundthat\"muchmorehadbeen
done\"uponit\"thanhehadbeenawareof。\"Ithad\"beentreatedinsuchamannerbysomeoftheFrencheconomists，
occasionallybyMontesquieu，and，amongourownwriters，byDr。Franklin，SirJamesSteuart，Mr。ArthurYoung，andMr。
Townsend，astocreateanaturalsurprisethatithadnotexcitedmoreofthepublicattention。\"\"Much，however，\"hethought，
\"remainedyettobedone。Thecomparisonbetweentheincreaseofpopulationandfoodhadnot，perhaps，beenstatedwith
sufficientforceandprecision，\"and\"fewinquirieshadbeenmadeintothevariousmodesbywhichthelevel\"between
populationandthemeansofsubsistence\"iseffected。\"Thefirstdesideratumherementioned——thewant，namely，ofan
accuratestatementoftherelationbetweentheincreaseofpopulationandthatoffood——Malthusdoubtlesssupposedto
havebeensuppliedbythecelebratedpropositionthat\"populationincreasesinageometrical，foodinanarithmetical，ratio。\"
Thisproposition，however，hasbeenconclusivelyshowntobeerroneous，therebeingnosuchdifferenceoflawbetweenthe
increaseofmanandthatoftheorganicbeingswhichformhisfood。J。S。MillisindignantwiththosewhocriticiseMalthus’s
formula，whichhegroundlesslydescribesasamere\"passingremark，\"because，ashethinks，thougherroneous，itsufficiently
suggestswhatistrue;butitissurelyimportanttodetectunrealscience，andtoteststrictlythefoundationsofbeliefs。When
theformulawhichwehavecitedisnotused，othersomewhatnebulousexpressionsarefrequentlyemployed，as，for
example，that\"populationhasatendencytoincreasefasterthanfood，\"asentenceinwhichbotharetreatedasiftheywere
spontaneousgrowths，andwhichonaccountoftheambiguityoftheword\"tendency，\"isadmittedlyconsistentwiththefact
assertedbySenior，thatfoodtendstoincreasefasterthanpopulation。Itmustalwayshavebeenperfectlywellknownthat
populationwillprobably（thoughnotnecessarily）increasewitheveryaugmentationofthesupplyofsubsistence，andmay，in
someinstances，inconvenientlypressupon，orevenforacertaintimeexceed，thenumberproperlycorrespondingtothat
supply。Norcoulditeverhavebeendoubtedthatwar，disease，poverty——thelasttwooftentheconsequencesofvice——are
causeswhichkeeppopulationdown。Infact，thewayinwhichabundance，increaseofnumbers，want，increaseofdeaths，
succeedeachotherinthenaturaleconomy，whenreasondoesnotintervene，hadbeenfullyexplainedbytheRev。Joseph
TownsendinhisDissertationonthePoorLaws（1786），which，wehaveseen，wasknowntoMalthus。Again，itissurely
plainenoughthattheapprehensionbyindividualsoftheevilsofpoverty，orasenseofdutytotheirpossibleoffspring，may
retardtheincreaseofpopulation，andhasinallcivilizedcommunitiesoperatedtoacertainextentinthatway。Itisonly
whensuchobvioustruthsareclothedinthetechnicalterminologyof\"positive\"and\"preventivechecks\"thattheyappear
novelandprofound;andyettheyappeartocontainthewholemessageofMalthustomankind。Thelaboriousapparatusof
historicalandstatisticalfactsrespectingtheseveralcountriesoftheglobe，adducedinthealteredformoftheessay，though
itcontainsagooddealthatiscuriousandinteresting，establishesnogeneralresultwhichwasnotpreviouslywellknown，
andisaccordinglyignoredbyJamesMillandothers，whorestthetheoryonfactspatenttouniversalobservation。Indeed，as
wehaveseen，theentirehistoricalinquirywasanafterthoughtofMalthus，who，beforeenteringonit，hadalready
announcedhisfundamentalprinciple。
Itwouldseem，then，thatwhathasbeenambitiouslycalledMalthus’stheoryofpopulation，insteadofbeingagreat
discovery，assomehaverepresentedit，orapoisonousnovelty，asothershaveconsideredit，isnomorethanaformal
enunciationofobvious，thoughsometimesneglected，facts。Thepretentiouslanguageoftenappliedtoitbyeconomistsis
objectionable，asbeingapttomakeusforgetthatthewholesubjectwithwhichitdealsisasyetveryimperfectlyunderstood
——thecauseswhichmodifytheforceofthesexualinstinct，andthosewhichleadtovariationsinfecundity，stillawaitinga
completeinvestigation。（38）
Itisthelawofdiminishingreturnsfromland（ofwhichmorewillbesaidhereafter），involvingasitdoes——thoughonly
hypothetically——theprospectofacontinuouslyincreasingdifficultyinobtainingthenecessarysustenanceforallthe
membersofasociety，thatgivestheprincipalimportancetopopulationasaneconomicfactor。Itis，infact，theconfluenceof
theMalthusianideaswiththetheoriesofRicardo，especiallywiththecorollarieswhichthelatter，asweshallsee，deduced
fromthedoctrineofrent（thoughthesewerenotacceptedbyMalthus），thathasledtotheintroductionofpopulationasan
elementinthediscussionofsomanyeconomicquestionsinrecenttimes。
Malthushadundoubtedlythegreatmeritofhavingcalledpublicattentioninastrikingandimpressivewaytoasubjectwhich
hadneithertheoreticallynorpracticallybeensufficientlyconsidered。Butheandhisfollowersappeartohavegreatly
exaggeratedboththemagnitudeandtheurgencyofthedangerstowhichtheypointed。（39）Intheirconceptionsasinglesocial
imperfectionassumedsuchportentousdimensionsthanitseemedtoovercloudthewholeheavenandthreatentheworld
withruin。Thisdoubtlessarosefromhishavingatfirstomittedaltogetherfromhisviewofthequestionthegreat
counteractingagencyofmoralrestraint。Becauseaforceexists，capable，ifunchecked，ofproducingcertainresults，itdoes
notfollowthatthoseresultsareimminentorevenpossibleinthesphereofexperience。Abodythrownfromthehandwould，
underthesingleimpulseofprojection，moveforeverinastraightline;butitwouldnotbereasonabletotakespecialaction
forthepreventionofthisresult，ignoringthefactthatitwillbesufficientlycounteractedbytheotherforceswhichwillcome
intoplay。Andsuchotherforcesexistinthecaseweareconsidering。Iftheinherentenergyoftheprincipleofpopulation
（supposedeverywherethesame）ismeasuredbytherateatwhichnumbersincreaseunderthemostfavourable
circumstances，surelytheforceoflessfavourablecircumstances，actingthroughprudentialoraltruisticmotives，ismeasured
bythegreatdifferencebetweenthismaximumrateandthosewhichareobservedtoprevailinmostEuropeancountries。
Underarationalsystemofinstitutions，theadaptationofnumberstothemeansavailablefortheirsupportiseffectedbythe
feltoranticipatedpressureofcircumstancesandthefearofsocialdegradation，withinatolerabledegreeofapproximationto
whatisdesirable。Tobringtheresultnearertothejuststandard，ahighermeasureofpopularenlightenmentandmore
serioushabitsofmoralreflectionoughtindeedtobeencouraged。Butitisthedutyoftheindividualtohisactualorpossible
offspring，andnotanyvaguenotionsastothepressureofthenationalpopulationonsubsistence，thatwillbeadequateto
influenceconduct。
TheonlyobligationonwhichMalthusinsistsisthatofabstinencefrommarriagesolongasthenecessaryprovisionfora
familyhasnotbeenacquiredorcannotbereasonablyanticipated。Theideaofpost—nuptialcontinence，whichhassincebeen
putforwardbyJ。S。Millandothers，isforeigntohisview。Heevensuggeststhatanallowancemightbemadefromthe
pubicfundsforeverychildinafamilybeyondthenumberofsix，onthegroundthat，whenamanmarries，hecannottellhow
manychildrenheshallhave，andthatthereieffromanunlooked—fordistressaffordedbysuchagrantwouldnotoperateas
anencouragementtomarriage。Thedutyofeconomicprudenceinenteringonthemarriedstateisplain;butinthecaseof
workingmentheideaofasecuredprovisionmustnotbeundulypressed，anditmustalsoberememberedthattheproper
ageformarriageinanyclassdependsonthedurationoflifeinthatclass。Still，tooearlymarriagesarecertainlynot
unfrequent，andtheyareattendedwithotherthaneconomicevils，sothatpossiblyevenlegalmeasuresmightwithadvantage
beresortedtoforpreventingtheminallranksbysomewhatpostponingtheageoffullcivilcompetence——achange，
however，whichwouldnotbewithoutitsdangers。Ontheotherhand，theMalthusiansoftenspeaktoolightlyofinvoluntary
celibacy，notrecognisingsufficientlythatitisadeplorablenecessity。Theydonotadequatelyestimatethevalueofdomestic
lifeasaschoolofthecivicvirtues，andthesocialimportance（evenapartfrompersonalhappiness）ofthemutualaffective
educationarisingfromtherelationsofthesexesinawell—constitutedunion。
Malthusfurtherinfersfromhisprinciplesthatstatesshouldnotartificiallystimulatepopulation，andinparticularthat
poor—lawsshouldnotbeestablished，and，wheretheyexist，shouldbeabolished。Thefirstpartofthispropositioncannotbe
acceptedasapplyingtoeverysocialphase，foritisevidentthatinacaselikethatofancientRome，wherecontinuous
conquestwasthechiefoccupationofthenationalactivity，orinotherperiodswhenprotractedwarsthreatenedthe
independenceorsecurityofnations，statesmenmightwiselytakespecialactionofthekinddeprecatedbyMalthus。In
relationtomodernindustrialcommunitiesheisdoubtlessingeneralright，thoughthepromotionofimmigrationinnew
statesissimilarinprincipletotheencouragementofpopulationThequestionofpoor—lawsinvolvesotherconsiderations。
TheEnglishsystemofhisdaywas，indeed，aviciousone，thoughactinginsomedegreeasacorrectiveofotherevilsinour
socialinstitutions;andeffortsforitsamendmenttendedtothepublicgood。Buttheproposalofabolitionisonefromwhich
statesmenhaverecoiled，andwhichgeneralopinionhasneveradopted。Itisdifficulttobelievethatthepresentsystemwill
bepermanent;itistoomechanicalandundiscriminating;onsomesidestoolax，itisoftenundulyrigorousinthetreatmentof
theworthypoorwhoarethevictimsofmisfortune;and，initsordinarymodesofdealingwiththeyoung，itisopentograve
objection。Butitwouldcertainlyberashtoabolishit;itisoneofseveralinstitutionswhichwillmorewiselyberetaineduntil
thewholesubjectofthelifeoftheworkingclasseshasbeenmorethoroughly，andalsomoresympathetically，studied。The
positionofMalthuswithrespecttothereliefofdestitutionissubjecttothisgeneralcriticism，that，firstprovingtoomuch，
hethenshrinksfromtheconsequencesofhisownlogic。itfollowsfromhisarguments，andisindeedexplicitlystatedina
celebratedpassageofhisoriginalessay，thathewhohasbroughtchildrenintotheworldwithoutadequateprovisionfor
themshouldbelefttothepunishmentofNature，that\"itisamiserableambitiontowishtosnatchtherodfromherhand，\"
andtodefeattheactionofherlaws，whicharethelawsofGod，andwhich\"havedoomedhimandhisfamilytosuffer。\"
Thoughhistheoryleadshimtothisconclusion，hecouldnot，asaChristianclergyman，maintainthedoctrinethat，seeingour
brotherinneed，weoughttoshutupourbowelsofcompassionfromhim;andthusheisinvolvedintheradical
inconsequenceofadmittingthelawfulness，ifnottheduty，ofrelievingdistressincaseswhereheyetmustregardtheactas
doingmischieftosociety。Buckle，whowasimposedonbymorethanoneoftheexaggerationsoftheeconomists，accepts
thelogicalinferencewhichMalthusevaded。Heallegesthattheonlygroundonwhichwearejustifiedinrelievingdestitution
istheessentiallyself—regardingone，thatbyremainingdeaftotheappealofthesuffererweshouldprobablyblunttheedgeof
ourownfinersensibilities。
ItcanscarcelybedoubtedthatthefavourwhichwasatonceaccordedtotheviewsofMalthusincertaincircleswasduein
parttoanimpression，verywelcometothehigherranksofsociety，thattheytendedtorelievetherichandpowerfulof
responsibilityfortheconditionoftheworkingclasses，byshowingthatthelatterhadchieflythemselvestoblame，andnot
eitherthenegligenceoftheirsuperiorsortheinstitutionsofthecountry。Theapplicationofhisdoctrines，too，madebysome
ofhissuccessorshadtheeffectofdiscouragingallactiveeffortforsocialimprovement。ThusChalmers\"reviewsseriatim，
andgravelysetsasidealltheschemesusuallyproposedfortheameliorationoftheeconomicconditionofthepeople\"onthe
groundthatanincreaseofcomfortwillleadtoanincreaseofnumbers，andsothelaststateofthingswillbeworsethanthe
first。
Malthushasinmorerecenttimesderivedacertaindegreeofreflectedlustrefromtheriseandwideacceptanceofthe
Darwinianhypothesis。Itsauthorhimself，intracingitsfiliation，pointstothephrase\"struggleiorexistence\"usedbyMalthus
inrelationtothesocialcompetition。Darwinbelievesthatmanhasadvancedtohispresentrelativelyhighconditionthrough
suchastruggle，consequentonhisrapidmultiplication。Heregards，itistrue，theagencyofthiscausefortheimprovement
ofourraceaslargelysupersededbymoralinfluencesinthemoreadvancedsocialstages。Yetheconsidersit，eveninthese
stages，ofsomuchimportancetowardsthatend，thatnotwithstandingtheindividualsufferingarisingfromthestrugglefor
life，hedeprecatesanygreatreductioninthenatural，bywhichheseemstomeantheordinary，rateofincrease。
Therehasbeenoflateexhibitedinsomequartersatendencytoapplythedoctrineofthe\"survivalofthefittest\"tohuman
societyinsuchawayastointensifytheharsherfeaturesofMalthus’sexpositionbyencouragingtheideathatwhatever
cannotsustainitselfisfated，andmustbeallowed，todisappear。Butwhatisrepellentinthisconceptionisremovedbya
wideviewoftheinfluenceofhumanity，asadisposingpower，alikeonvitalandonsocialconditions。Asinthegeneral
animaldomainthesupremacyofmanintroducesanewforceconsciouslycontrollingandultimatelydeterminingthedestinies
ofthesubordinatespecies，sohumanprovidenceinthesocialspherecanintervenefortheprotectionoftheweak，modifying
byitsdeliberateactionwhatwouldotherwisebeamerecontestofcomparativestrengthsinspiredbyselfishinstincts。（40）
DavidRicardo（1772—1823）isessentiallyoftheschoolofSmith，whosedoctrinesheinthemainaccepts，whilstheseeksto
developthem，andtocorrectthemincertainparticulars。ButhismodeoftreatmentisverydifferentfromSmith’s。Thelatter
aimsatkeepingclosetotherealitiesoflifeashefindsthem，——atrepresentingtheconditionsandrelationsofmenandthings
astheyare;and，asHumeremarkedonfirstreadinghisgreatwork，hisprinciplesareeverywhereexemplifiedandillustrated
withcuriousfacts。QuiteunlikethisisthewayinwhichRicardoproceeds。Hemovesinaworldofabstractions。Hesetsout
frommoreorlessarbitraryassumptions，reasonsdeductivelyfromthese，andannounceshisconclusionsastrue，without
allowingforthepartialunrealityoftheconditionsassumedorconfrontinghisresultswithexperience。Whenheseeksto
illustratehisdoctrines，itisfromhypotheticalcases，——hisfavouritedevicebeingthatofimaginingtwocontractingsavages，
andconsideringhowtheywouldbelikelytoact。Hedoesnotexplain——probablyhehadnotsystematicallyexamined，
perhapswasnotcompetenttoexamine——theappropriatemethodofpoliticaleconomy;andthetheoreticdefenceofhis
modeofproceedingwaslefttobeelaboratedbyJ。S。MillandCairnes。Buthisexamplehadagreateffectindeterminingthe
practiceofhissuccessors。Therewassomethinghighlyattractivetotheambitioustheoristinthesweepingmarchoflogic
whichseemedinRicardo’shandstoemulatethecertaintyandcomprehensivenessofmathematicalproof，andintheportable
andpregnantformulaewhichweresoconvenientinargument，andgaveaprompt，ifoftenamoreapparentthanreal，
solutionofdifficultproblems。WhatevertherewasoffalseornarrowinthefundamentalpositionsofSmithhadbeenina
greatdegreecorrectedbyhispracticalsenseandstronginstinctforreality，butwasbroughtoutinitsfulldimensionsand
evenexaggeratedintheabstracttheoremsofRicardoandhisfollowers。
Thedangersinherentinhismethodwereaggravatedbytheextremeloosenessofhisphraseology。Seniorpronounceshim
\"themostincorrectwriterwhoeverattainedphilosophicaleminence。\"Hismostardentadmirersfindhimfluctuatingand
uncertainintheuseofwords，andgenerallytracehiserrorstoaconfusionbetweentheordinaryemploymentofatermand
somespecialapplicationofitwhichhehashimselfdevised。
ThemostcompleteexpositionofhissystemistobefoundinhisPrinciplesofPoliticalEconomyandTaxation（1817）。This
workisnotacompletetreatiseonthescience，butaratherlooselyconnectedseriesofdisquisitionsonvalueandprice，rent，
wages，andprofits，taxes，trade，moneyandbanking。Yet，thoughtheconnectionofthepartsisloose，thesamefundamental
ideasrecurcontinually，anddeterminethecharacteroftheentirescheme。
Theprincipalproblemtowhichheaddresseshimselfinthisworkisthatofdistribution，——thatistosay，theproportionsof
thewholeproduceofthecountrywhichwillbeallottedtotheproprietorofland，tothecapitalist，andtothelabourer。（41）Anditisimportanttoobservethatitisespeciallythevariationsintheirrespectiveportionswhichtakeplaceintheprogress
ofsocietythatheprofessestostudy，——oneofthemostunhistoricalofwritersthusindicatingasenseofthenecessityofa
doctrineofeconomicdynamics——adoctrinewhich，fromhispointofview，itwasimpossibletosupply。
Theprinciplewhichheputsfirstinorder，andwhichisindeedthekeytothewhole，isthis——thattheexchangevalueofany
commoditythesupplyofwhichcanbeincreasedatwillisregulated，underarégimeoffreecompetition，bythelabour
necessaryforitsproduction。SimilarpropositionsaretobefoundintheWealthofNations，nottospeakofearlierEnglish
writings。Smithhadsaidthat，\"intheearlyandrudestateofsocietywhichprecedesboththeaccumulationofstockandthe
appropriationofland，theproportionbetweenthequantitiesoflabournecessaryforacquiringdifferentobjectsseemstobe
theonlycircumstancewhichcanaffordanyruleiorexchangingthemwithoneanother。\"Buthewaversinhisconception，
andpresentsasthemeasureofvaluesometimesthequantityoflabournecessaryfortheproductionoftheobject，sometimes
thequantityoflabourwhichtheobjectwouldcommandinthemarket，whichwouldbeidenticalonlyforagiventimeand
place。Thetheoremrequirescorrectionforadevelopedsocialsystembytheintroductionoftheconsiderationofcapital，and
takestheforminwhichitiselsewherequotedfromMalthusbyRicardo，thattherealpriceofacommodity\"dependsonthe
greaterorlessquantityofcapitalandlabourwhichmustbeemployedtoproduceit。\"（Theexpression\"quantityofcapital\"is
lax，theelementoitimebeingomitted，butthemeaningisobvious。）Ricardo，however，constantlytakesnonoticeofcapital，
mentioninglabouraloneinhisstatementofthisprinciple，andseekstojustifyhispracticebytreatingcapitalas\"accumulated
labour;\"butthisartificialwayofviewingthefactsobscuresthenatureoftheco—operationofcapitalinproduction，andby
keepingthenecessityofthisco—operationoutofsighthasencouragedsomesocialisticerrors。Ricardodoesnotsufficiently
distinguishbetweenthecauseordeterminantandthemeasureofvalue;nordoeshecarrybacktheprincipleofcostof
productionasregulatorofvaluetoitsfoundationintheeffectofthatcostonthelimitationofsupply。Itisthe\"naturalprice\"
ofacommoditythatisfixedbythetheoremwehavestated;themarketpricewillbesubjecttoaccidentalandtemporary
variationsfromthisstandard，dependingonchangesindemandandsupply;butthepricewillpermanentlyandinthelong
run，dependoncostofproductiondefinedasabove。OnthisbasisRicardogoesontoexplainthelawsaccordingtowhich
theproduceofthelandandthelabourofthecountryisdistributedamongsttheseveralclasseswhichtakepartin
production。
Thetheoryofrent，withwhichhebegins，thoughcommonlyassociatedwithhisname，andthoughitcertainlyformsthemost
vitalpartofhisgeneraleconomicscheme，wasnotreallyhis，nordidhelayclaimtoit。Hedistinctlystatesintheprefaceto
thePrinciples，that\"in1815Mr。Malthus，inhisInquiryintotheNatureandProgressofRent，andafellowofUniversity
College，Oxford，inhisEssayontheApplicationofCapitaltoLand，presentedtotheworld，nearlyatthesamemoment，the
truedoctrineofrent。\"ThesecondwriterherereferredtowasSirEdwardWest，afterwardsajudgeofthesupremecourtof
Bombay。StillearlierthanthetimeofMalthusandWest，asM’Cullochhaspointedout，thisdoctrinehadbeenclearly
conceivedandfullystatedbyDr。JamesAndersoninhisEnquiryintotheNatureofCorn—Laws，publishedatEdinburghin
1777。（42）ThatthistractwasunknowntoMalthusandWestwehaveeveryreasontobelieve;butthetheoryiscertainlyas
distinctlyenunciatedandassatisfactorilysupportedinitasintheirtreatises;andthewholewayinwhichitisputforwardby
AndersonstrikinglyresemblestheforminwhichitispresentedbyRicardo。