投资 · 西方古典
托马斯·马尔萨斯：人口论·摘录 21
托马斯·马尔萨斯《人口论》· An Essay on the Principle of Population · 投资
This natural inequality of the two powers of population and of production in the earth, and that great law of our nature which must constantly keep their effects equal, form the great difficulty that to me appears insurmountable in the way to the perfectibility of society. All other arguments are of slight and subordinate consideration in comparison of this. I see no way by which man can escape from the weight of this law which pervades all animated nature. No fancied equality, no agrarian regulations in their utmost extent, could remove the pressure of it even for a single century. And it appears, therefore, to be decisive against the possible existence of a society, all the members of which should live in ease, happiness, and comparative leisure; and feel no anxiety about providing the means of subsistence for themselves and families.
出处：
https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/4239
定位：Excerpt 21 · 核对日期：2026-10-19 · 核验：短摘录
白话
马尔萨斯认为，人口与生产这两种力量天然不平衡，而自然法则又不断使二者效果持平，这构成社会可完善论无法逾越的障碍。其他论据相比之下都次要。他看不到人类能逃脱这条贯穿一切生命界的法则。任何空想的平等或彻底的土地改革，都无法消除这种压力哪怕一个世纪。因此，他断定不可能存在一个人人安逸、幸福、有闲暇且不必为养家糊口担忧的社会。
上下文
马尔萨斯在此总结其核心论点，反驳葛德文和孔多塞等人关于社会可无限完善的观点。
今日一问
你是否相信一个无需为生计担忧的社会可能实现？为什么？
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