Thisvolumemakesavailabletoastudentaudienceoneofthemostcontroversialandmiunderstoodworkspublishedduringthelasttwohundredyears.Malthus`sEssayanPrincipleofPopulationbeganlifein1798asapoliteattockonsomepost-French-revolutionaryspeculationsonthethemeofsocialandhumanhopessetbythetensionbetweenpopulationgrowthandnaturalresources.ThiseditionisbasedontheauthoritativevariorumofthematureversionsoftheEssaypublishedovertheperiod1803to1826.thiswastheperiodduringwhichMalthuscollectedfurtherdemographicevidenceanddevelopedadistinctivestanceasapoliticalmoralistonanumberofimportantpolicyquestionsthatwerecentraltopublicdebateduringandimmediatedyaftertheNapoleonicwars-theperiodinwhichBritaintheadequacyofitspoliticalinstitutionsandeconomicpoliciesinthefaceofrapidpopulationgrowth,politicalandindustrialization.
TheintroductionandnotesareaimedspecificallyatamodernstudentaudienceinterestedinhowMalthusianismimpingesonthehistoryofpoliticalthought.