Godwin, William. Of Population. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, Paternoster Row, 1820. CHAPTER XI. General View of the Arguments against the Increase of Mankind Mr. Malthus's theory is certainly of a peculiar structure, and it is somewhat difficult to account for the success it has met with. The subject is population. It has been agreed among the best philosophers in Europe, especially from the time of Lord Bacon to the present day, that the proper basis of all our knowledge respecting man and nature, respecting what has been in times that are past, and what may be expected in time to come, is experiment. This standard is peculiarly applicable to the subject of population. Mr. Malthus seems in one respect fully to concur in this way of viewing the subject. There are two methods of approaching the question, the first, by deriving our ideas respecting it from the volumes of sacred writ, an...
A comrade writes to us from Staffordshire: "I am sorry I cannot report any progress in propaganda or 'increase in numbers. It is difficult to agitate here; the workers live scattered about and are in a deplorable state of ignorance. Many of the older men and women can neither read nor write sad the ""adult classes" here only serve the purpose of hypocrisy and superstition, the "education" consisting merely in reading and writing from the Bible. What we require is a few intelligent and energetic young follows to settle down and work among the miners, quarrymen, brickmakers, sanitary pipe makers, iron-founders or furnacemen. Wages, of course, are very low, but a single man can board and lodge very well for 15s. weekly. We should certainly do ... (From : AnarchyArchives.)