Malthus argued that the population grows in a ___________ progression, while agricultural production/food supply grows in a ___________  progression.

From the following options, choose the correct answer to fill in the blanks:

The correct answer is Option 4

Key Points

• The Malthusian Theory of Population, proposed by Thomas Robert Malthus in his book "An Essay on the Principle of Population" (1798), states that:

  • Population grows in a Geometric Progression (i.e., exponentially: 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, etc.).
  • Food supply (agricultural production) grows in an Arithmetic Progression (i.e., linearly: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, etc.).

• Implication of the Theory:

  • Since population growth (exponential) is faster than food supply growth (linear), a crisis (famine, poverty, or war) would occur when food production fails to support the increasing population.
  • Malthus suggested preventive checks (moral restraints, delayed marriage) and positive checks (famines, diseases, wars) to control population growth.
• Thus, the correct choice is (4) Geometric, Arithmetic.