Illustration of Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834), British economist and clergyman. In 1798 Malthus published anonymously his Essay on the Principle of Population in which he argued that a population will inevitably increase faster than its food supply unless kept in check by famine, disease and war. Malthus' arguments gained great support, especially amongst those opposed to efforts intended to improve the living conditions of the poor. Charles Darwin was also influenced by Malthus, believing that a species' struggle for the limited food supply provided a mechanism for natural selection. Illustration by John Linnell (1834).