Recent scholars have given Thomas Robert Malthus a central role in the creation of the new Poor Law of 1834, viewing him as one of the most influential thinkers in the rise of liberal capitalism. Although debate continues about his specific influence, few would deny that from his first publication in 1798 to his death in 1834 he shaped the entire discourse on the poor and became the beacon against which all proposals for solving the growing problem of poverty in early industrial society had to be measured. Even though he was eventually overshadowed in the realm of political economy by figures such as David Ricardo and John Ramsay McCulloch, his views on population and poverty held sway throughout his lifetime and far beyond. The term "Malthusian" became embedded in the language of the early nineteenth century, and Malthus became the most controversial writer of his age.

His proposals to abolish...