Malthusian
    adj 1: of or relating to Thomas Malthus or to Malthusianism;
           "Malthusian theories"
    n 1: a believer in Malthusian theory

Malthusian \Mal*thu"sian\, n.
   A follower of Malthus.
   [1913 Webster]

Malthusian \Mal*thu"sian\, a.
   Of or pertaining to the political economist, the Rev. T. R.
   Malthus, or conforming to his views; as, Malthusian theories.
   See Malthus.
   [1913 Webster]

   Note: Malthus held that population tends to increase faster
         than its means of subsistence can be made to do, and
         hence that the lower classes must necessarily suffer
         more or less from lack of food, unless an increase of
         population be checked by prudential restraint or
         otherwise. The steadily increasing capacity of world
         economic systems and food production has proven this
         theory to be at least premature, since economic
         production has increased notably faster than population
         since the time of Malthus. The general notion that
         there is an ultimate limit on the ability of mankind to
         continue increasing food and goods in proportion to
         population is still held by many people, especially
         environmentalists, some of whom who feel that the chief
         limiting factor will be the inability to dispose of the
         waste products of industry, leading to a steady
         degradation of the environment in the absence of
         population limitation. However, even those that believe
         this differ widely in their estimates of when this
         limit will be reached.
         [1913 Webster +PJC]

MALTHUSIAN, adj.  Pertaining to Malthus and his doctrines.  Malthus
believed in artificially limiting population, but found that it could
not be done by talking.  One of the most practical exponents of the
Malthusian idea was Herod of Judea, though all the famous soldiers
have been of the same way of thinking.