Malthus and Ricardo

By the 1800s, the Industrial Revolution was well underway in Great Britain touching all sectors of the British economy. More people moved to the cities to work in the factories while less and less were left in rural areas to farm. With this came the evils of industrial society: low wages, bad living and working conditions, overcrowding, pollution and poverty. At the same time many other new inventions were appearing, such as the steam engine. …

…ultimately results in a shortage of food. He said, "Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio. Subsistence only increases in an arithmetical ratio. A slight acquaintance with numbers will show the immensity of the first power compared second." He also argued that the number of laborers exceeded the amount of work in the market, which led to the low wages that were being observed in the 1800s as a result of the Industrial Revolution.