1.15. The Increase and Decrease of the Number of People in a State chiefly Depends on the Taste, the Fashions, and the Ways of Life of the Property Owners

Population is based on the tastes and choices of property owners. Early versions of the Malthusian approach to population growth—that it follows some mathematical formula—are criticized. This chapter also shows that the opulence and lavish spending of the prince and absentee landlords living far from their lands was responsible for the poverty and declining population of France, which ultimately led to the French Revolution.From Part 1: Production, Distribution, and Consumption. Narrated by Millian Quinteros.