Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio.
Thomas MalthusRead
The great and unlooked for discoveries that have taken place of late years have all concurred to lead many men into the opinion that we were touching on a period big with the most important changes.
Interpretation
Malthus reflects on recent discoveries that suggest significant changes are imminent.
In this quote, Thomas Malthus discusses how recent unforeseen discoveries have prompted many people to believe that society is on the brink of momentous transformations. He implies that these changes could redefine human existence and the understanding of our world, urging a focus on the implications of these advancements.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about technological advancements and their impact on society.
Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio.
The prodigious waste of human life occasioned by this perpetual struggle for room and food, was more than supplied by the mighty power of population, acting, in some degree, unshackled, from the constant habit of emigration.
The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man.
The rich, by unfair combinations, contribute frequently to prolong a season of distress among the poor.
In a state therefore of great equality and virtue, where pure and simple manners prevailed, the increase of the human species would evidently be much greater than any increase that has been hitherto known.
I think it will be found that experience, _x000D_ the true source and foundation of all knowledge, _x000D_ invariably confirms its truth.
What we need is a tough new kind of feminism with no illusions. Women do not change institutions simply by assimilating into them. We need a feminism that teaches a woman to say no - not just to the date rapist or overly insistent boyfriend but, when necessary, to the military or corporate hierarchy within which she finds herself. We need a kind of feminism that aims not just to assimilate into the institutions that men have created over the centuries, but to infiltrate and subvert them.
Change means movement. Movement means friction. Only in the frictionless vacuum of a nonexistent abstract world can movement or change occur without that abrasive friction of conflict.
All of us will ultimately be judged on the effort we have contributed to building a new world order.
In so far as the government lands can be disposed of, I am in favor of cutting up the wild lands into parcels so that every poor man may have a home.
On the day I started college in 1979, no woman had ever been on the United States Supreme Court or served as the Speaker of the House. None had been an astronaut or the solo anchor of a network evening news broadcast. Not one had been president of an Ivy League college or run a serious campaign for president.
It is easier to change a man's religion than to change his diet.
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