What is the premise of Malthusian Theory?

• A. Population grows faster than food supply, leading to shortages.
• B. Population remains constant.
• C. Food supply grows faster than population.
• D. Economic growth outpaces population growth.

Answer: (A)

The main idea being tested is that population tends to grow faster than the resources needed to sustain it, especially food, so shortages and crises arise if there aren’t checks on growth. Malthus argued that population can increase geometrically (rapidly) while food production grows more slowly, arithmetically, which means demand can quickly outpace supply. When that gap widens, natural and social checks—such as famine, disease, and conflict—tend to reduce population or slow its growth, maintaining a balance. He also discussed preventive checks like delaying marriage to lower birth rates. So the premise is that population growth outstrips food supply, leading to shortages. The other options describe scenarios that don’t fit this idea: constant population contradicts growth, food outpacing population goes against the premise, and economic growth outpacing population isn’t the focus of Malthus’s theory.