1798: Thomas Malthus’ An Essay on the Principle of Population is published anonymously; Malthus is later revealed to be the author [184] [115]

Art Piece: Government, City: United States: Social Conditions, United States: Census of 1900: Proportion of Urban to Total Population, by States and Territories, at each Census., Unidentified Artist, c. 1903 [188]

Paper: Population, poverty and economic development [162]

As the Industrial Revolution made lives easier, and as advances in sanitation and medical care improved human health, the populations of different countries, and also the world as a whole began to grow [190] significantly. Worried about resources when compared to this new growth in population, Thomas Malthus wrote his ideas down and published them anonymously at first, and as a result of his ideas’ popularity, decided to attach his name to his text instead. Penning An Essay on the Principle of Population, Malthus discusses [183] population can outcompete resources, and that “restraints” can keep populations in check. This idea of a limited number of resources with a growing population and competition is also reminiscent of natural selection, with Darwin using these ideas to shape his own. Malthus’ work was a significant paradigm shift, as it influenced how many think about economics, and since it also influenced Darwin’s ideas, as well. Though how much Malthus directly influenced Darwin will probably not be known, the similarities between Malthus’ ideas and Darwin’s cannot [56] be missed. A piece from Harvard Art Museums [188] which best exemplifies these ideas is the above chart of the “…United States: Census of 1900…” This chart is from the Census, and shows the population levels of different states through a few years (although the text on the chart is small, it appears that the dates may be comprised of different years through the 1900s). Population demographics and growth is at the heart of Malthus’ ideas, facilitating the paradigm shift caused by his text. The scientific paper above [162] about population, poverty, and economic development also discusses some more Malthusian ideas, and also adds increased modern contexts and relations. Malthus’ work was a large paradigm shift, adding to economic and social policy thought.