Page 41 - The Social Weapon: Darwinism

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entific claim, resources were insufficient for the rapidly rising pop-
ulation, and Malthus alleged that it was becoming essential to en-
gage in a serious struggle for survival. This was the same claim
expressed in the subtitle to Darwin's The Origin of Species: the
Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life...

In his Essay, Malthus stated that this rapid population rise
needed to be halted, and came up with a number of solutions.
According to him, misery and vice were the two main factors that
checked population growth. Phenomena such as famine and epi-
demics were examples of misery, which kept population in check.
Other examples were such phenomena as wars. Malthus wrote
that rapid population increase could be checked by such means as
war, famine, disease and the killing of newborn babies, to balance
population and food resources. Anyone with common sense and a
conscience will agree that such a claim is irrational, illogical, and
horrendously brutal. Accurate planning of income and essential
resources for the well-being and peace of societies is of course of
the greatest importance for the future of those societies. However,
it is also evident that planning wars, slaughter and murder will in-