Thomas Malthus

"A man of a surly and morose disposition cannot be rendered happy by the possession of wealth and power."

"When we look at the state of the world, we cannot but perceive that the great object of nature is the improvement of the human race."

"The principal mode by which the necessary restraint on population is effected, and by which the resources of nature are preserved, is moral restraint."

"It is hardly possible to conceive that any situation can be so unfavourable to the practice of prudence as that of a man in poverty."

"The gratification of the passion between the sexes must, in the course of nature, lead to an increase of population."

"Genius is a faculty of genius, and every person must be allowed to develop their own particular talents."

"The true measure of a society is not its wealth, but the condition of its poorest members."

"A person has not truly lived unless they have experienced the consequences of their own folly."

"The supply of labour has been, and still is, the great question which politicians have to settle."

"Society is continually wasting away by the dissolution of individuals, who must necessarily perish as individuals."

"Progress is not inevitable; it requires constant effort and vigilance from every member of society."

"The perfectibility of man has been a favorite topic with philosophers and poets, but the reality falls far short of expectation."

"It is more conformable to our duties to consider men as capable of indefinite improvement."

"The checks to population are all resolvable into misery or vice."

"A man should be ashamed to be idle if he has any means of supporting himself."

"The history of mankind is the history of the struggle for subsistence and the distribution of its fruits."

"If society cannot maintain all that are born, some must necessarily perish."

"The principle of population, by which human beings tend to increase beyond the means of subsistence, is one of the most fundamental laws of nature."

"Every man who owns land possesses a certain power over the poor who work for him."

"The question of the distribution of wealth is intimately connected with the question of the distribution of labour."

"A man in the enjoyment of plenty cannot easily conceive of the condition of one reduced to want."

"The increase of wealth is not a sure indication of the increase of happiness of the mass of the people."

"Nations, like individuals, have their seasons of prosperity and of adversity."

"The natural progress of mankind is towards the improvement of condition, tempered by the operation of natural checks."

"It is better to struggle for subsistence than to receive it as a charity."

"The capacity of the earth to produce food is limited, but the capacity of mankind to consume it is unlimited."

"A man who has the prospect of supporting himself and his family is induced to be industrious and prudent."

"The vice and misery which spring from the difficulty of providing for a family is the great check on the increase of population."

"Liberty and equality are noble aspirations, but they must be tempered by the realities of human nature and the natural world."

"The present situation of mankind is highly calamitous, and yet so numerous are the comforts which may be derived from a proper investigation of the subject."