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Palgrave Macmillan

William Godwin and Thomas Robert Malthus

Economics, Justice, Population and the Poor

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  • © 2024

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

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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felt Godwin had neglected the ever-increasing pressure of population on scarce food and that control could not be superseded by automaticity so long as the productivity of the land was limited by the law of nature.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.

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Keywords

Table of contents (12 chapters)

Authors and Affiliations

  • School of Economics, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK

    David Reisman

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

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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

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