Thomas Robert Malthus, the name was not unfamiliar in 19th-century England, and even more so to modern people in the 21st century.

However, it is interesting to note that in both the 21st and 19th centuries, as long as the name appears, it is inevitably accompanied by a lot of controversy and criticism.

However, even those who no longer disliked Malthus could deny his pivotal position in British economics.

As a priest, Malthus had a family background that corresponded to his social status.

As early as Cromwell's time, the Malthusian family began to work as priests.

The Malthusian family's first contact with economics began with the South Sea case that caused the earthquake on the London Stock Exchange, and Mr. Thomas Malthus's grandfather, Sidenham Malthus, was a member of the board of directors of the South Sea Company.

Since grandpa was able to play a figure like Isaac Newton in the stock market, the IQ of the descendants of the Malthusian family was naturally not much worse.

The wealth they have accumulated in the stock market has also given them more financial resources to invest in the education of their offspring and expand their social network.

David Hume and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, the leading figures of the 18th-century Enlightenment, maintained a long-standing friendship with the Malthusian family.

On the occasion of Rousseau's death, he even gave his will to Daniel Malthus of Malthus, hoping that he would be able to help carry out his last wishes.

The Malthusian family's long-standing association with the leading figures of the Enlightenment further influenced their views on education and faith.

Although Malthus was still sent to Christ's College, Cambridge, according to family practice, Malthus Jr. clearly had a different understanding of God from ordinary Anglican priests.

He remained a Christian, but his thinking became more and more inclined towards the monist doctrine of Christianity, rejecting the Trinity and denying that God consists of three persons (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit).

In Malthus Jr., God is God, and only the Bible is the only basis for faith. Those who try to patch the Bible or explain it are harboring evil intentions for their own gain, and these impure intentions are the biggest reason for the decline of the church.

Centuries ago, even during the Reformation, Malthus the Younger would have been strangled by Catholicism and Protestantism for his mere remarks.

This is because Catholicism had affirmed monism as a cult heresy at the Council of Nicaea in the fourth century C.E., and the main initiators of the Reformation, Martin Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli, also rejected this argument.

As a result, arrests, imprisonments, and executions for supporting 'monism' were not uncommon.

But fortunately, in the 18th century, when Malthus Jr. grew up, freedom of belief in England was not yet achieved at the political level, but at least it was achieved at the social level.

Moreover, in the eyes of the parliamentarians, organized Catholics are the real henchmen. Minor branches of Protestantism, such as monism and the Scottish Presbyterian Church, were at least willing to swear allegiance to the king, as long as there was nothing wrong with that, and everything else was a minor issue.

Coupled with the fact that the Malthusians were an authentic English family that had been loyal to parliament since the time of Cromwell, the University of Cambridge turned a blind eye to his deviance.

After all, in the Renaissance, there were quite a few guys like Malthus Jr. on the Cambridge campus.

Oxford next door also has a Jeremy Bentham, and Cambridge has a Malthus.

After all, compared to Malthus, his Cambridge apprentice Lord Byron, and Shelley, who was expelled from Oxford for publishing "On the Inevitability of Atheism", are the real heavyweights.

At least Malthus-san still acknowledges God, doesn't he?

Almost.

But just because Cambridge University has no opinion on Malthus does not mean that his classmates have no opinion. Even if this opinion is not based on faith, but on personal opinion and personal vendettas.

All in all, although Malthus was generally a gentle, modest, and calm British gentleman, perhaps it was because of his personality and slightly extreme views that he did not get along well with a certain straightforward Cambridge junior.

To make matters worse, this student was none other than Samuel Coleridge, the future representative of the British Lakeside School of Poetry and social critic.

And this feud between the two has continued from their college days to the present.

When Malthus's The Principle of Population was published, Coleridge immediately launched an attack on his turf, Blackwood.

"Look at this mighty country! Its rulers and wise men listened to William Paley and Thomas Malthus! This is very sad. Is this folio book teaching us that poverty will bring great suffering and sin? In places where there are more mouths than bread and more heads than brains, will poverty be the ultimate in poverty? ”

Coleridge's criticism of The Principle of Population is not an isolated case, to be precise, in British literary circles, those who do not criticize Malthus have become a minority.

Even Coleridge's scolding was far from the harshest of them all, and Robert Sausset, another representative of the Lakeside School, even bluntly stated: "Malthus is the favorite object of English critics, and this is the same preference for him as other filth outlets." ”

These poets, who loved moral codes and pastoral life, even coined the term 'Malthusianism' to specifically shame those who admired material life and had great spiritual deprivation.

Although it is not uncommon to be humiliated by Sauss, after all, the famous master Mr. Sausse once scolded Byron as the "head of the satanist poets" in "The Illusion of Judgment", and put Shelley and others in the category of "Satanists".

But Byron and the others had the support of a group of enthusiastic young people, and when they came to Malthus, there was only the scolding of the whole country of Britain.

However, it is not difficult to understand that he is scolding, because at any time the arguments of the "Population Principle" are difficult to accept in the self-esteem of human beings.

In Malthus's view, there is no difference between humans and animals, and they will continue to fall into the trap of fighting each other until neither side has the strength to continue fighting.

Unemployment and poverty are the inevitable consequences of the natural laws of population, and humanity cannot avoid this fate, and all measures to help the poor and promote social equality are futile.

And the best way to solve this problem is to lead human morality to indifference or even cruelty, destroy all existing moral systems, control population growth, and even acquiesce in infanticide, birth control, famine, war, etc. to inhibit human reproduction.

Finally, Malthus also believed that private property is also an inevitable consequence of the natural laws of population, and that it is indestructible and indestructible in tandem with human beings. Moreover, it is also the best method and system to maintain a balance between population growth and the growth of the quality of life of the population.

To support his point, Malthus cites famines, epidemics, and the killing of the American colonies in the Far East as examples.

As soon as Malthus's remarks were thrown, the Lakeside faction, which advocated the use of ancient moral codes to promote social justice, was certainly unlikely to spare him, and Byron, Shelley and other rebels naturally attacked this bloody doctrine.

There was almost unanimous agreement that he was supporting the government's disregard for the poor and undermining the progress of public welfare.

But contrary to the overwhelming criticism of public opinion, the British government and the East India Company discovered the value of Malthus at about the same time.

William Pitt Jr., the greatest prime minister of the 18th century, abandoned the classical economic view that "having more children is a way to enrich the country" because Malthus had abandoned the idea that "having more children would enrich the country", and voluntarily abandoned the new Poor Law that he had been pushing for to increase the amount of relief.

The East India Company, on the other hand, created a new discipline for Malthus at Highbury College, political economy, and made him the world's first professor of political economy.

Even if Malthus's theories are full of fallacies, he is still a master if only on an academic level.

But if it's from a social level......

Even in Arthur's case, his friends, Dickens, Disraeli, Alexandre Dumas, and even Herr Elder Carter, have largely criticized Malthus, whom they see as one of the major drivers of the suffering of the poor.

But interestingly, if you look at things from the University of London's perspective, that's a different story. Many people in the University of London department, whether it was Jeremy Bentham, Lord Broughham, or Charlie Austin, who was about to become Attorney General of the District of London, and Edwin Chadwick, the private secretary of the Lord Chancellor, accepted Malthus's views to some extent.

These utilitarians believe that human compassion is completely useless in the face of pessimistic facts, and if Malthus's argument is ultimately proven correct, then they do not mind continuing to work on the Poor Law.

Arthur was thinking about this when there was a knock on the door.

John Mill, who had been busy for several days in the various documents of the Liverpool Customs Department, pushed the door open with black circles under his eyes and walked in.

"Arthur, is there something urgent for me? The Customs Department sent a large number of new documents yesterday afternoon, and if we delay a little longer, I am afraid that it will take us four or five days to finish them. ”

Arthur smiled and said, "John, don't be too anxious about the tariff. If it really doesn't work, let the Customs Department send someone to help us sort it out. You've been busy with the apprentices at the accounting firm for so long, it's time to take a break. ”

Mill poured tea and said, "Arthur, you must have been hurt by that stone, otherwise how could you say such nonsense?" Let the customs department check itself, what can they find? ”

Arthur replied: "It's okay if they can't find out, so I'll take the initiative to ask London to resign and let them come to Liverpool to work for someone else." Besides, there was a hole in the corner of my eye, and it would be rude for them not to be considerate and considerate of the injured. ”

Mill took a sip of tea and let out a sigh of relief: "Although it is very unfortunate that you are injured, if it weren't for this opening in the corner of your eye, it is estimated that the customs office in Liverpool would not have sent me all the remaining documents." The new amount counted in these two days alone amounted to an additional three thousand six hundred pounds. ”

When Arthur heard this number, he nodded slightly and said, "It's okay." But, John, as much as I've always thought you were capable of working, I was surprised that you could be so strong. It's unthinkable that a guy like you hasn't gone to school. ”

Hearing this, Mill put down his teacup and corrected, "Arthur, just because I didn't go to school doesn't mean I didn't go to school. ”

Arthur pouted when he heard this: "Your speech sounds like the Ministry of Foreign Affairs." ”

Mill began, "I didn't go to school, but it was because my father thought that British schooling was terrible, so he always taught me at home. I began to study Greek with him at the age of three, Latin, algebra, geometry and calculus at the age of eight, history at the age of nine, and economics, philosophy and logic at the age of twelve. By the time I was 16, I was writing for the Westminster Review. Isn't that much better than most college graduates? ”

When Arthur heard this, he nodded in agreement: "It's indeed a high-quality education, and you seem to have missed a lot of projects, at least in my opinion, you also speak French and German quite well." However, I have a question, doesn't your father have to earn money to support his family when he spends so much time on you every year? ”

Mill replied, "Of course, I had to make money, but my father's job was relatively easy, so he spent his free time educating his children. ”

Arthur picked up the teacup: "What does your father do?" ”

Mill took a bite of the bagel: "He is a member of the board of directors of the East India Company. ”

"Ahem, ahem, ahem......"

Arthur took out a handkerchief and wiped the tea that spilled from the corner of his mouth: "If I'm not mistaken, it seems that the board of directors is responsible for inspecting the company's finances and supervising the work of the board members, right?" They seem to have the power to sue directors on behalf of shareholders? ”

Mill nodded, "Arthur, your knowledge has improved compared to a year ago. ”

Arthur put down his teacup and said, "Well, now I finally know why you were able to work in the finance department of the East India Company, and even in the first few years of your employment, you can still be idle and depressed, and feel in a trance all day long." If I had such a father, even if I slept on the manager's desk, he would not have a problem with me. ”

Mill blushed and coughed, "Arthur, are you saying that my ability is not enough to work for the East India Company?" ”

"No, no, no, I didn't mean that at all. Even if you have the ability to work in the Ministry of Finance, it is definitely enough. ”

Arthur spoke: "It's just that I've heard Elder say before that if you want to work at the London headquarters of the East India Company, you don't look at your ability to work. Elder told me that even though people don't say anything about it, if you look at the composition of the new hires at the London headquarters, you can see that 90 percent of them are from Belliol College, Oxford. ”

"Well......" Mill hesitated for a long time with his mouth half-open, and finally nodded vaguely: "I can only say that the East India Company does have some cooperation with Beliol." ”

Arthur nodded, "So, an exception like yours is even more precious. ”

Mill endured it for a long time, and finally couldn't help but retort when he heard this: "Arthur, you are insulting my reputation. In fact, even ordinary people, as long as they have been trained at the company's Hayleybury College, they have the opportunity to enter the London headquarters. I trained there for more than half a year. ”

Arthur couldn't help but smile when he heard him mention Hayleybury College: "It was indeed a good school, with the East India Company as the backstage, with plenty of financial resources, and there were many well-known professors, such as Mr. Malthus. By the way, you are so proficient in political economy, you must have taken his class back then, right? ”

"Professor Malthus?" When Mill heard this, his face couldn't help but become strange: "This is a sensitive topic, what are you suddenly mentioning him for?" ”

(End of chapter)