Malthus' Contributions and Drawbacks

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This chapter discusses Malthus' ideas on environmental economics and the role of population in society, as well as his concerns about moral depravity and the need for moral restraint. It explores his contributions to macroeconomics and critiques his failure to recognize the potential for economic growth and birth control. The chapter concludes by mentioning the exemplary communication between Malthus and Ricardo and their pursuit of truth.

Who is the greatest economist of all time? In Tyler Cowen's eclectic view, you need both breadth and depth, macro and micro. You can't have been too wrong--and you need to be mostly right. You have to have had a lasting impact, and done both theory and empirical work. If you meet all these criteria, you may just be history's greatest economist. Listen as Cowen talks about his new and freely accessible book GOAT with EconTalk's Russ Roberts. Along the way to crowning a winner, Cowen offers original insights into what shaped the theories and worldviews of the greatest economists of all time. Cowen and Roberts also talk about the evolution of economics from a field concerned mainly with ideas to one that mostly grapples with empirical challenges.