Date

8-20-2026

Department

College of Arts and Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in History (PhD)

Chair

Jared Tracy

Keywords

Malthus, Darwin, Eugenics, Population, Demography, Fertility, Economics, Cold War

Disciplines

History

Abstract

This dissertation traces the history of an idea: the “zero-sum” theory of human nature and humanity’s relationship with the natural world that lies at the core of the Malthusian worldview. Grounded in the belief that life is a ruthless struggle over scarce resources and that human beings are destined to reproduce beyond the earth’s “carrying capacity,” Malthusianism provided the key intellectual foundations for Darwin’s theory of evolution, which later informed the rise of eugenics. Although eugenics lost much of its scientific legitimacy and moral authority after the Holocaust and the Nuremberg Trials, many American eugenicists and eugenics organizations remained committed to their program of genetic improvement and to the Malthusian assumptions that underpinned them. During the Cold War, an explicitly “zero-sum” framework for understanding population growth and economic development became institutionalized within the U.S. government, the United Nations, and major international family planning organizations. Driven by fears of communism, resource scarcity, and ecological collapse, U.S. policymakers led a global effort to curb fertility rates, particularly in the developing world. Although many of these catastrophic predictions never materialized, Malthusian assumptions continue to exert significant influence in the twenty-first century, including within the United Nations and affiliated NGOs.

Download

Included in

History Commons

Share

COinS