Theory of Population

Thomas Doubleday (February 1790 – 18 December 1870) was an English Politician and Author.  He was born in Newcastle-on-Tyne. In early life he adopted the views of William Cobbett, and was active in promoting the agitation which resulted in the passing of the Reform Bill of 1832. As secretary of the Northern Political Union of Whigs and Radicals he took a prominent part in forwarding the interests of Earl Grey and the reforming party. In 1858-1859, he was a member of the council of the Northern Reform Union; and to the last he was a keen observer of political events. [1]

He succeeded his father, George Doubleday, as partner in a firm of soap manufacturers at Newcastle, but devoted his attention rather to literature than to mercantile affairs. On the failure of the firm he obtained the office of registrar of St Andrews parish, Newcastle, a post which he held until appointed secretary to the coal trade. He died at Bulmans Village, Newcastle-on-Tyne in 1870.[1]

In 1841, another English political economist, Thomas Doubleday (1790-1870) propounded what he called the true law of population, which attempted to establish a relationship between population growth and the diet of the people.

According to Doubleday, poverty stimulates population growth, as the diet of the poor is insufficient. He based his principle on the well known fact about the animal world: rabbits and swine's "will not conceive if fed to a certain height of fatness."

He maintained that while the Chinese; the Irish and the Scotch were highly fertile because their diet was inadequate, the birth rates in France were low because the French were well-fed.

In 1952, Josue de Castro, in his book, Geography of Hunger, contended that deficiency of proteins make under-nourished people more fertile than those who are well-nourished. He based his conclusions on the negative correlation between the protein content of the diet and the birth rates of various countries.

Neither the...