Overview
- Provides insight into the overlooked dialogue between Thomas Malthus and William Godwin
- Highlights early debates on social attitudes towards poverty and the role of state intervention
- Shows the influence of Thomas Malthus and William Godwin on the history of economic thought
Access this book
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Other ways to access
About this book
This book explores the lifelong dialogue between Thomas Robert Malthus and the libertarian anarchist William Godwin. Shedding light on important topics in the history of economic and political thought, it examines Godwin’s rejection of the new industrial order and his insights into a post-acquisitive, post-conflictual future. It shows that Malthus felt Godwin had neglected the ever-increasing pressure of population on scarce food and that control could not be superseded by automaticity so long as the productivity of the land was limited by the law of nature.
Godwin and Malthus situated their views on population in the broader context of individual choice, property rights, normative constraint and the status of the poor. Godwin and Malthus were committed to an economy that was equitable as well as efficient. Their proposals for social betterment make the book relevant to contemporary debates even as it sheds light on two giant thinkers of the past.
Similar content being viewed by others
Keywords
Table of contents (12 chapters)
Authors and Affiliations
About the author
David Reisman is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Surrey, UK, and Senior Associate at the Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
Accessibility Information
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: William Godwin and Thomas Robert Malthus
Book Subtitle: Economics, Justice, Population and the Poor
Authors: David Reisman
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-62113-0
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: Economics and Finance, Economics and Finance (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-031-62112-3Published: 02 July 2024
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-031-62115-4Published: 03 July 2025
eBook ISBN: 978-3-031-62113-0Published: 01 July 2024
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: X, 259
Topics: History of Economic Thought/Methodology, Political Economy/Economic Systems, Economic Policy