The new views on demographic transition: a reassessment of Malthus's and Marx's approach to population

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to examine the divergence of views of Marx and Malthus regarding the family and the labour market. The paper analyses the divergences between them, as well as their common features. The main divergence is the way in which the two see the interaction between man and nature. We show that their divergence of views, and the specific difference in perception of the two thinkers regarding the place of children in the family over time, is related to the alternate ways of modelling demographic transition today. We analyse the debate between these two lines of reasoning by means of a formal model that differentiate between the two views.

Keywords:

• Marx
• Malthus
• Social Classes
• Fertility Rates
• Capital
• Proletariat
• Child Labour