future improvement of society. He also constructed his case as a specific response to writings of William Godwin and of the Marquis de Condorcet (1743-1794). Many questioned and criticised the book. In response, he published six revisions of An Essay on the Principle of Population, before 1826. Each time he updated the book to incorporate new material, to address criticism, and to convey changes in his own perspectives on the subject.

In the decades following its publication, the Essay gave rise