1. The Malthusian position on fertility and economics is distorted to some degree due to the time period in which Thomas Malthus wrote.  His research and writings took place in the early 1800's and this was a time period in which controlling fertility through contraception had not been fully accomplished.  However, it is interesting to see what Malthus had in mind, because it preceded the "new" approach of the 1960's.  With that said, it is easier to distinguish the two approaches and it is easier to make sense of what each was trying to convey. 
 Malthus believed that young men and women tended to marry as soon as a young man could earn enough to support a family.  Today, this belief would be somewhat out dated due to the fact that women are becoming more and more of an economic factor in relationships.  Malthus also believed that soon after the marriage of the two young people births would follow the course of "natural fertility," which is roughly the birth rate that would take place if there was no contraception or if abstinence was not practiced.  Today, it seems that if people get married at a young age it is because the female is pregnant.  Also, there is a growing trend today of people getting married and waiting to have children, or people waiting longer to get married, thus waiting to have children also.  Due to the time in which we live as opposed to the time in which Malthus lived, people's ways of thinking and living have changed a great deal.  With the introduction of the pill in the 1960's, those who wanted to get married at an early age, but not have children soon after marriage could do so.
      Economically speaking, Malthus argued that higher incomes would e ...