Letters to Mr. Malthus, on Various Subjects of Political Economy; Particularly on the Causes of the General Stagnation of Commerce

[London]: The Pamphleteer [A.J. Valpy], 1821.

Scarce pamphlet featuring five letters by Jean Baptiste Say in response to "Principles of Political Economy" by Robert Thomas Malthus. Say (1767-1832) was a giant in free-market economics and wrote these letters criticizing the economic views of Malthus (1766-1834), whose "Principles of Political Economy" appeared in 1820.

Malthus, of course, was probably better known for his controversial earlier work, "An Essay on the Principles of Population," in which he predicted that population growth would outstrip global food production, leading to mass starvation and death.

In terms of economics, their disagreements centered on the causes of depressions. Both men wrote in the wake of the depression and high unemployment that followed the Napoleonic Wars (hence the reference to "general stagnation of commerce" in the title of Say's collection of letters). Malthus believed that depressions were caused by general overproduction of goods, while Say thought general gluts were impossible, arguing that supply creates its own demand ("Say's Law," as it's known to economists).

This pamphlet was removed from a bound volume of "The Pamphleteer," a collection of pamphlets and speeches regularly issued by London printer and publisher A.J. Valpy. This piece was published in Vol. 17, No. 34 in 1821, one year following the publication of Malthus's book.

The text of this pamphlet appeared as part of a longer work by Say, "Letters to Mr. Malthus, and A Catechism of Political Economy," issued in 1821 by Sherwood, Neely, and Jones of London. Chez Bossange in Paris issued the original French edition in 1820.

This pamphlet is scarce in both the antiquarian book trade and in institututional holdings. OCLC shows about a dozen holdings in North America and Europe under different accession numbers.

PHYSICAL DETAILS: Octavo (8 x 5 1/8 inches; 203 x 130 mm), [3], 292-345, [1] pages, in sewn printed wrappers (soft cover).

CONDITION: Some creasing and evidence of water staining, small tear near gutter of pages 321-322, not affecting text, flaking to spine. Overall, a Very Good copy.