Population, when unchecked, increases in a geometrical ratio.
Thomas MalthusRead
It has appeared that from the inevitable laws of our nature, some human beings must suffer from want. These are the unhappy persons who, in the great lottery of life, have drawn a blank.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Certain people in life will inevitably experience suffering and lack, much like losing in a lottery.
Thomas Malthus reflects on the inherent inequalities of life, suggesting that some individuals will face hardship and want due to the unavoidable laws of nature. This metaphor compares life to a lottery, where some are fortunate while others must contend with misfortune, raising questions about fate, fairness, and human experience.
Themes
SufferingInequalityLotteryLifeFate
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about social inequality and economic disparity, you could use this quote to illustrate the randomness of fortunes in life.
More from Thomas Malthus
All quotes →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.
Thomas MalthusRead
The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man.
Thomas MalthusRead
The rich, by unfair combinations, contribute frequently to prolong a season of distress among the poor.
Thomas MalthusRead
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.
Thomas MalthusRead
I think it will be found that experience, _x000D_ the true source and foundation of all knowledge, _x000D_ invariably confirms its truth.
Thomas MalthusRead
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