--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Men, like animals, naturally multiply in…" description: "\"Men, like animals, naturally multiply in proportion to the means of their subsistence.\" — Adam Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/adam-smith-1040_animal_men-like-animals-naturally-multiply-in-p_3063023.jpg" --- # Men, like animals, naturally multiply in proportion to the… ![“Men, like animals, naturally multiply in proportion to the means of their subsistence.” quote by Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/adam-smith-1040_animal_men-like-animals-naturally-multiply-in-p_3063023.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/adam-smith-1040_animal_men-like-animals-naturally-multiply-in-p_3063023.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/adam-smith-1040_animal_men-like-animals-naturally-multiply-in-p_3063023.jpg) > “Men, like animals, naturally multiply in proportion to the means of their subsistence.” [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human reproduction tends to increase proportionally with available resources, reflecting natural economic principles. **In simple terms:** More resources, more population growth. Key Takeaway Consider resource limits when planning for growth. Themes economics population resource allocation Mood analytical educational Type economic sociological When to use this quote - policy planning - urban development - environmental management - business strategy Key Concepts population dynamics resource scarcity economic theory Questions to Reflect On - How do cultural values affect population growth? - What limits can curb unchecked expansion? A Different Perspective Assumes rational behavior and ignores cultural factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Animal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) [Animals Naturally](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animals-naturally-3627895/) [Economics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/economics/) [Like Animals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-animals/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Means Subsistence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/means-subsistence-759259/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Naturally Multiply](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/naturally-multiply-5146133/) [Proportion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/proportion/) [Subsistence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/subsistence/) ## Related quotes > [Culture is the tacit agreement to let the means of subsistence disappear behind the purpose of existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/culture-is-the-tacit-agreement-to-let-the-means-of-subsistence/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Progress, under whose feet the grass mourns and the forest turns into paper from which newspaper plants grow, has subordinated the purpose of life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-kraus/progress-under-whose-feet-the-grass-mourns-and-the-forest-turns-into/) [Karl Kraus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-kraus/) > [Or at school you might have been prodded to come “out of your shell”—that noxious expression which fails to appreciate that some animals naturally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/or-at-school-you-might-have-been-prodded-to-come-out-of-your-shell/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“...some animals naturally carry shelter everywhere they go, and...some humans are just the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-cain/some-animals-naturally-carry-shelter-everywhere-they-go-and-some/) [Susan Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-cain/) > [“If any class deserves to be protected and assisted by the government, it is the class who are banished from their native land in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-o-connor-2/if-any-class-deserves-to-be-protected-and-assisted-by-the-government/) [Joseph O Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-o-connor-2/) > [The necessaries of life occasion the great expense of the poor. 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Ames](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-c-ames/) > [...the science of calculation also is indispensable as far as the extraction of the square and cube roots: Algebra as far as the quadratic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/the-science-of-calculation-also-is-indispensable-as-far-as-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [It is evident that the right of acquiring and possessing property, and having it protected, is one of the natural, inherent, and unalienable rights…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-paterson/it-is-evident-that-the-right-of-acquiring-and-possessing-property-and/) [William Paterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-paterson/) ## More by Adam Smith > [Poor David Hume is dying fast, but with more real cheerfulness and good humor and with more real resignation to the necessary course of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/poor-david-hume-is-dying-fast-but-with-more-real-cheerfulness-and/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [“The effects of the division of labour, in the general business of society, will be more easily understood by considering in what manner it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/the-effects-of-the-division-of-labour-in-the-general-business-of/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Defense is superior to opulence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/defense-is-superior-to-opulence/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [“There is a great deal of ruin in a nation.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/there-is-a-great-deal-of-ruin-in-a-nation/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [“The profligacy of a man of fashion is looked upon with much less contempt and aversion, than that of a man of meaner condition.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/the-profligacy-of-a-man-of-fashion-is-looked-upon-with-much-less/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Great ambition, the desire of real superiority, of leading and directing, seems to be altogether peculiar to man, and speech is the great instrument…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/great-ambition-the-desire-of-real-superiority-of-leading-and/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [People of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/people-of-the-same-trade-seldom-meet-together-even-for-merriment-and/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [Nobody but a beggar chooses to depend chiefly upon the benevolence of his fellow-citizens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/nobody-but-a-beggar-chooses-to-depend-chiefly-upon-the-benevolence-of/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [How selfish soever man may be supposed, there are evidently some principles in his nature, which interest him in the fortune of others, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/how-selfish-soever-man-may-be-supposed-there-are-evidently-some/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [The liberal reward of labour, therefore, as it is the affect of increasing wealth, so it is the cause of increasing population. To complain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/the-liberal-reward-of-labour-therefore-as-it-is-the-affect-of/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [A sketch of a man facing to the right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/a-sketch-of-a-man-facing-to-the-right/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [What can be added to the happiness of a man who is in health, out of debt, and has a clear conscience?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/what-can-be-added-to-the-happiness-of-a-man-who-is-in-health-out-of/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/it-is-not-from-the-benevolence-of-the-butcher-the-brewer-or-the-baker/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [When we have read a book or poem so often that we can no longer find any amusement in reading it by ourselves, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/when-we-have-read-a-book-or-poem-so-often-that-we-can-no-longer-find/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) > [We are but one of the multitude, in no respect better than any other in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/we-are-but-one-of-the-multitude-in-no-respect-better-than-any-other/) [Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) [Explore all 267 Adam Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/) ## More Animal quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. 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Francione](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-l-francione/) [Browse all 13,456 Animal quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/animal/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Men, like animals, naturally multiply in proportion to the means of their subsistence.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Adam Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/men-like-animals-naturally-multiply-in-proportion-to-the-means-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Animal" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/men-like-animals-naturally-multiply-in-proportion-to-the-means-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/adam-smith-1040_animal_men-like-animals-naturally-multiply-in-p_3063023.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/adam-smith-1040_animal_men-like-animals-naturally-multiply-in-p_3063023.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bd0/adam-smith-1040_animal_men-like-animals-naturally-multiply-in-p_3063023.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Men, like animals, naturally multiply in proportion to the means of their subsistence.” — Adam Smith", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Adam Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Men, like animals, naturally multiply in...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/men-like-animals-naturally-multiply-in-proportion-to-the-means-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/men-like-animals-naturally-multiply-in-proportion-to-the-means-of/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```