Details
Publisher
Commons Press
Edition
1st
Year of publication
2023
Number of pages
1794
Paperback ISBN
978-1-7374810-5-8
Hardcover ISBN
978-1-7374810-2-7
The Malthus Fraud
The defeat of the British government by American revolutionaries and the role of the laboring classes in overthrowing the French monarchy in the late 1700s inspired confidence among working people and fear among the elites, posing the need for an ideological counterattack. The Essay on Population was Malthus’s contribution to this battle of ideas.
He argued that society’s ills are caused not by the greed-driven capitalist system, but by working people “overpopulating.” The fact that there is not a single historical example that supports his doctrine has had no effect on its continuing popularity among today’s propagandists for the status quo. This is because it never was a scientific theory, but a religious-political dogma, more akin to antisemitism and racism. It serves to divert us from carrying out the necessary revolutionary solutions to the problems we face.
This booklet is an excerpt from The Power of Peasants: Economics and Politics of Farming in Medieval Germany.
Reviews (2)
FEATURED REVIEW
“With power and clarity, Dees dismantles Malthus’s claims…. The Malthus Fraud is well-documented, sharply argued, and never dry despite its scholarly heft…. Brisk, blistering critique of Malthus and Malthusian ideology.”
All reviews (2)
Michael Roberts
Review of Agrarian Studies
“Dees does a demolition job on the population theory of the reactionary nineteenth century English parson, Thomas Malthus.“
related books
Further reading
Excerpts from the main book, published seperately
The Power of Peasants
Advances in agricultural production by farmers played the decisive role in the great advances in civilization in Europe. Looking at history from the perspective of the farmers and other working people allows us to understand why history took the course it did and better prepare us for battles that lie ahead.
VIEW BOOK PAGE →
A Brief History of England
A factual but humorously written romp through English history, highlighting the role of farmers in driving many of its key turning points, including winning the Forest Charter and Magna Carta. This victory was key to farmers winning their freedom from serfdom and from there, producing the agricultural surpluses that powered England’s rise to world domination.
VIEW BOOK PAGE →