Page 580 - Atlas of Creation Volume 3

According to Malthus, the "lower class" had to be brought under control, oppressed, weakened and made to work. When his
twisted view was accepted, the working class was forced to labor under the most appalling conditions.

There is no exception to the rule that every organic being naturally increases at so high a rate, that, if not de-
stroyed, the earth would soon be covered by the progeny of a single pair. Even slow-breeding man has doubled
in twenty-five years, and at this rate, in less than a thousand years, there would literally not be standing-room
for his progeny. 13

Darwin described the relationship between Malthus's theory and the thesis of natural selection thus:

As more individuals are produced than can possibly survive, there must in every case be a struggle for exis-

tence, either one individual with another of the same species, or with the individuals of distinct species, or with
the physical conditions of life. It is the doctrine of Malthus applied with manifold force to the whole animal and
vegetable kingdoms. 14

These ideas of Darwin's, which found support in the twisted thinking of Malthus, possess no scientif-
ic value. Moreover, this cruel perspective maintains that population planning can be ensured by eliminat-

ing the weak and poor, and preaches that the weak need to be destroyed. Regarding life not as based on
peace, security and understanding, but as a matter of mere survival necessitating a ruthless struggle, it in-
flicted the most terrible catastrophes on societies.

From Malthus to a Ruthless World View

Although Malthus and Darwin's views lacked any scientific foundation, they received wide support.
We need to seek the reason for this in the period in which they both lived, which was post-Industrial

Revolution England. Following the Industrial Revolution, the British aristocracy feared it would surrender
its status and power to the working class. On the other hand, they needed a larger, cheap work force. As a
result of that dilemma, the ruling class in Britain drew the conclusion that the "lower class" had to be weak-
ened, brought under control, oppressed, and put to work. In stating that food resources were insufficient

in the face of a rapidly rising population, Malthus suggested that the solution lay in preventing the "low-
er orders" from multiplying, thus causing a number of measures to be taken against the poor. By applying
Malthus's thesis to natural sciences and biology, Darwin provided the claim with a fictitious scientific
guise.

In his book Social Darwinism in American Thought, Richard Hofstadter says this about Darwin's support
for Malthus's thesis:

Malthusianism had become popular in England... it had also been used to relieve the rich of responsibility for
the sufferings of the poor. Malthus had been proved wrong by the course of events; and just when his theory
was dying out in political economy it received fresh support from Darwinian biology. 15

578 Atlas of Creation Vol. 3