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It is a mere futile process to exchange one set of commodities for another, if the parties; after this new distribution of goods has taken place, are not better off than they were before.

— Thomas Robert Malthus Principles of Political Economy (1836)

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More quotes by Thomas Robert Malthus

Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio, Subsistence, increases only in an arithmetical ratio.

An Essay on The Principle of Population (1798)

The greatest talents have been frequently misapplied and have produced evil proportionate to the extent of their powers.

An Essay on The Principle of Population (1798)

It is an acknowledged truth in philosophy that a just theory will always be confirmed by experiment.

An Essay on The Principle of Population (1798)

Had population and food increased in the same ratio, it is probable that man might never have emerged from the savage state.

An Essay on The Principle of Population (1798)

In general it may be said that demand is quite as necessary to the increase of capital as the increase of capital is to demand.

Principles of Political Economy (1836)

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