John Maynard Keynes once observed that "practical men, who believe themselves to be quite exempt from any intellectual influences, are usually the slaves of some defunct economist." One reason to read Robert J. Mayhew's intellectual biography of Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834) is the very strong chance that you are under the influence of this particular defunct economist whether you know it or not.

This is true whether you are a radical environmentalist or a pro-growth conservative, a pro-lifer or pro-choicer,...