The correct option is Thomas Malthus.
Explanation
The statement refers to the central hypothesis of the Malthusian Theory of Population, proposed by British economist Thomas Robert Malthus in his 1798 work, An Essay on the Principle of Population.
Detailed Analysis:
- Thomas Malthus (Correct): Malthus argued that human population tends to increase at a geometric rate (e.g., 1, 2, 4, 8, 16), while the means of subsistence (food supply) increases only at an arithmetic rate (e.g., 1, 2, 3, 4, 5). He concluded that population growth would inevitably outstrip food production, leading to "positive checks" (such as famine, disease, and war) or requiring "preventive checks" (such as moral restraint) to restore the balance between population and resources.
- Karl Marx: Marx critiqued Malthus's views. He asserted that poverty and starvation were not caused by natural laws of population growth but by the unequal distribution of resources under the capitalist mode of production.
- Adam Smith: A classical economist known for The Wealth of Nations, Smith generally viewed population growth as a correlate of economic prosperity and labor demand, but he did not formulate the specific theory regarding the mathematical disparity between population and food supply.
- George B. Cressey: A geographer known for his extensive work on the geography of Asia and China, not for foundational demographic theories regarding population-resource ratios.
Key Takeaway: Thomas Malthus is distinctively associated with the theory that population grows geometrically while food supply grows arithmetically, creating an inevitable resource crisis.