Malthus and the British Critic

Abstract

Nineteen seventy nine was a good year for students of the Rev. T. R. Malthus. An evaluation of Malthus the demographer was provided by William Petersen, while Mrs. Patricia James wrote a marvellous biography of the Malthus the man, his times and his friends. Nonetheless, one can sympathize with Mark Blaug's comment that there are still many aspects of Malthus that elude us. One such aspect that needs resolution is why was Malthus not more actively involved with the Tory party between 1815-1830, when his own views tended so closely to support the bulwark of the Tory party, the landed classes. Was Malthus really too busy to write for the Quarterly Review, as he was asked to do? And if so, what was he so busy with? By drawing upon various points raised by Malthus' recent biographers as well as my own study of Anglican clergymen-economists in the period 1700-1850 I will suggest that Malthus was in fact busy during this period because he was writing the economic articles for the High-Church Anglican British Critic.