Faculty Fellow Roy Scranton recently authored the article "Misunderstood Malthus” in The Conversation.
After the publishing of his An Essay on the Principles of Population, Thomas Malthus earned a reputation as a pessimist, foreseeing population-driven human suffering. In this article, Scranton offers a new caricature, instead presenting Malthus as a reformer, an early environment economist, and a critical thinker who pushed for policies grounded in reality.
Amid the mounting ecological pressures the world faces today, Scranton says Malthus's perspective offers timely insight into the necessity to respect natural limits.
Scranton is an associate professor of English and the founding director of the Notre Dame Environmental Humanities Initiative. His work focuses on social narrative, human dignity, and the challenges posed to ethical life by conflict, inequality, and ecological crisis.