---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When Hume and Adam Smith prophesied that…"
description: "\"When Hume and Adam Smith prophesied that a little increase of national debt beyond the then amount of it, would probably occasion bankruptcy; the main ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/thomas-malthus-7621_able_when-hume-and-adam-smith-prophesied-that_2981786.png"
---

#  When Hume and Adam Smith prophesied that a little increase…

![“When Hume and Adam Smith prophesied that a little increase of national debt beyond the then amount of it, would probably occasion bankruptcy; the main cause of their error was the natural one, of not being able to see the vast increase of productive power to which the nation would subsequently…” quote by Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/thomas-malthus-7621_able_when-hume-and-adam-smith-prophesied-that_2981786.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/thomas-malthus-7621_able_when-hume-and-adam-smith-prophesied-that_2981786.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/thomas-malthus-7621_able_when-hume-and-adam-smith-prophesied-that_2981786.png)

> “When Hume and Adam Smith prophesied that a little increase of national debt beyond the then amount of it, would probably occasion bankruptcy; the main cause of their error was the natural one, of not being able to see the vast increase of productive power to which the nation would subsequently obtain.”

[Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Early economists misjudged debt impact, ignoring future productive growth.

**In simple terms:** Debt seen as harmful, but can boost productivity.

Key Takeaway

Consider long‑term benefits of debt.

Themes

economics debt growth

Mood

analytical cautious

Type

historical theoretical

When to use this quote

- policy making
- national budgeting
- investment planning

Key Concepts

classical economics productive capacity

Questions to Reflect On

- When does debt become dangerous?
- How to balance debt and growth?

A Different Perspective

May understate risk.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bankruptcy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bankruptcy/) [National debt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/national-debt/) [Nations](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nations/) [Occasions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/occasions/)

## Related quotes

> [Reason and free inquiry are the only effectual agents against error... They are the natural enemies of error, and of error only... If \[free…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/reason-and-free-inquiry-are-the-only-effectual-agents-against-error-2/)

[Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/)

> [It always struck me as pretty cool that people who changed the world often knew each other. After reading them separately, hearing that David…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-lonsdale/it-always-struck-me-as-pretty-cool-that-people-who-changed-the-world/)

[Joe Lonsdale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-lonsdale/)

> [The fact that, I've heard anecdotally, careers officers regularly tell students who think about a career in the arts, particularly in acting, not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paterson-joseph/the-fact-that-i-ve-heard-anecdotally-careers-officers-regularly-tell/)

[Paterson Joseph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paterson-joseph/)

> [My grandmother told me: 'Never be in debt to anyone or anything.' Which is probably why I've never been financially extravagant - I still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-scott/my-grandmother-told-me-never-be-in-debt-to-anyone-or-anything-which/)

[Jill Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-scott/)

> [To my mind, to say that says to young people "and you probably are not going to get out of debt, and you probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/to-my-mind-to-say-that-says-to-young-people-and-you-probably-are-not/)

[Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/)

> [The fact that mathematics does such a good job of describing the Universe is a mystery that we don't understand. And a debt that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-fact-that-mathematics-does-such-a-good-job-of-describing-the/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Our national debt after all is an internal debt owed not only by the Nation but to the Nation. If our children have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-d-roosevelt/our-national-debt-after-all-is-an-internal-debt-owed-not-only-by-the/)

[Franklin D. Roosevelt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-d-roosevelt/)

> [Where are we to look for the consumption required but among the unproductive labourers of Adam Smith?.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/where-are-we-to-look-for-the-consumption-required-but-among-the/)

[Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/)

> [Nature and society are so replete with startling contrasts that wit often consists in the mere statement and comparison of facts, as when Hume…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-percy-whipple/nature-and-society-are-so-replete-with-startling-contrasts-that-wit/)

[Edwin Percy Whipple](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-percy-whipple/)

> [“I have always considered David Hume as approaching as nearly the idea of a perfectly wise and virtuous man as perhaps the nature of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-smith/i-have-always-considered-david-hume-as-approaching-as-nearly-the-idea/)

[Adam Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-smith/)

> [Taste is not stationary. It grows every day, and is improved by cultivation, as a good temper is refined by religion. In its most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/taste-is-not-stationary-it-grows-every-day-and-is-improved-by/)

[Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/)

> [Democrats all claim they'll get rough with the terrorists, but they can't even face Brit Hume.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-coulter/democrats-all-claim-they-ll-get-rough-with-the-terrorists-but-they/)

[Ann Coulter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-coulter/)

> [The first-cause and prime-mover argument, brilliantly proffered by St. Thomas Aquinas in the fourteenth century (and brilliantly refuted by David Hume in the eighteenth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-shermer/the-first-cause-and-prime-mover-argument-brilliantly-proffered-by-st/)

[Michael Shermer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-shermer/)

> [“David Hume, in a moment of acute skepticism, felt panicky in the solitude of his study and had to go out and join his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/david-hume-in-a-moment-of-acute-skepticism-felt-panicky-in-the/)

[William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/)

> [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/)

## More by Thomas Malthus

> [On the whole it may be observed, that the specific use of a body of unproductive consumers, is to give encouragement to wealth by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/on-the-whole-it-may-be-observed-that-the-specific-use-of-a-body-of/)

[Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/)

> [The germs of existence contained in this spot of earth, with ample food, and ample room to expand in, would fill millions of worlds…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/the-germs-of-existence-contained-in-this-spot-of-earth-with-ample/)

[Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/)

> [The proposition of Mr. Ricardo, which states that a rise in the price of labour lowers the price of a large class of commodities,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/the-proposition-of-mr-ricardo-which-states-that-a-rise-in-the-price/)

[Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/)

> [Thirty or forty proprietors, with incomes answering to between one thousand and five thousand a year, would create a much more effectual demand for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/thirty-or-forty-proprietors-with-incomes-answering-to-between-one/)

[Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/)

> [Every endeavor should be used to weaken and destroy all those institutions relating to corporations, apprenticeships, &c, which cause the labours of agriculture to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/every-endeavor-should-be-used-to-weaken-and-destroy-all-those/)

[Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/)

> [A great emigration necessarily implies unhappiness of some kind or other in the country that is deserted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/a-great-emigration-necessarily-implies-unhappiness-of-some-kind-or/)

[Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/)

> [If I saw a glass of wine repeatedly presented to a man, and he took no notice of it, I should be apt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/if-i-saw-a-glass-of-wine-repeatedly-presented-to-a-man-and-he-took-no/)

[Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/)

> [The power of population is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/the-power-of-population-is-indefinitely-greater-than-the-power-in-the/)

[Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/)

> [ \[P\]opulation, when unchecked, goes on doubling itself every twenty-five years, or increases in a geometrical ratio. ... \[T\]he means of subsistence, under circumstances the… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/p-opulation-when-unchecked-goes-on-doubling-itself-every-twenty-five/)

[Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/)

> [It is not the most pleasant employment to spend eight hours a day in a counting house.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/it-is-not-the-most-pleasant-employment-to-spend-eight-hours-a-day-in/)

[Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/)

> [A writer may tell me that he thinks man will ultimately become an ostrich. I cannot properly contradict him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/a-writer-may-tell-me-that-he-thinks-man-will-ultimately-become-an/)

[Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/)

> [The doctrine of population has been conspicuously absent, not because I doubt in the least its truth and vast importance, but because it forms…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/the-doctrine-of-population-has-been-conspicuously-absent-not-because/)

[Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/)

> [In a state therefore of great equality and virtue, where pure and simple manners prevailed, the increase of the human species would evidently be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/in-a-state-therefore-of-great-equality-and-virtue-where-pure-and/)

[Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/)

> [The greatest talents have been frequently misapplied and have produced evil proportionate to the extent of their powers. Both reason and revelation seem to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/the-greatest-talents-have-been-frequently-misapplied-and-have/)

[Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/)

> [Hard as it may appear in individual cases, dependent poverty ought to be held disgraceful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/hard-as-it-may-appear-in-individual-cases-dependent-poverty-ought-to/)

[Thomas Malthus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/)

[Explore all 89 Thomas Malthus quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/)

## More Able quotes

> [I am certain that children always know more than they are able to tell, and that makes the big difference between them and adults,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-lusseyran/i-am-certain-that-children-always-know-more-than-they-are-able-to/)

[Jacques Lusseyran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-lusseyran/)

> [I have observed this in my experience of slavery, - that whenever my condition was improved, instead of its increasing my contentment, it only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-douglass/i-have-observed-this-in-my-experience-of-slavery-that-whenever-my/)

[Frederick Douglass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-douglass/)

> [There is something about the South that accepts the supernatural. If you don't accept it and you're having a conversation with someone who does,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-englert/there-is-something-about-the-south-that-accepts-the-supernatural-if/)

[Alice Englert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-englert/)

> [In the '80s, the way radio was programmed, if you didn't have a hit record you weren't going to be able to make any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/in-the-80s-the-way-radio-was-programmed-if-you-didn-t-have-a-hit/)

[Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/)

> [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/)

[Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/)

> [I have that need in me, I want everyone to love me, but I'm embarrassed by that need, so I wanted to cover it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-jeselnik/i-have-that-need-in-me-i-want-everyone-to-love-me-but-i-m-embarrassed/)

[Anthony Jeselnik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-jeselnik/)

> [Thinking about the things that happened, I don't know any other ball player would could have done what he (Jackie Robinson) did. To be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pee-wee-reese/thinking-about-the-things-that-happened-i-don-t-know-any-other-ball/)

[Pee Wee Reese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pee-wee-reese/)

> [I wanted to remember in order to be able to return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/i-wanted-to-remember-in-order-to-be-able-to-return/)

[Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/)

> [Government schools, with your tax money, now discourage the teaching of multiplication tables by rote memorization but teach reading by the 'look-and-say' method which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-perry/government-schools-with-your-tax-money-now-discourage-the-teaching-of/)

Greg Perry

> [I don't know if I would qualify as mainstream. I think I have managed to function pretty successfully on the fringes of the music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-metheny/i-don-t-know-if-i-would-qualify-as-mainstream-i-think-i-have-managed/)

[Pat Metheny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-metheny/)

> [What we're supposed to do as actors is be able to portray real human beings and emotions. And if you grow up in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-browning/what-we-re-supposed-to-do-as-actors-is-be-able-to-portray-real-human/)

[Emily Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-browning/)

> [The reason that Apple is able to create products like iPad is because we always try to be at the intersection of technology and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-jobs/the-reason-that-apple-is-able-to-create-products-like-ipad-is-because/)

[Steve Jobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-jobs/)

> [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/)

[Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/)

> [- You look fine. - Right. I look fine. Except I don't, said Zora, tugging sadly at her man's nightshirt. This was why Kiki…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/you-look-fine-right-i-look-fine-except-i-don-t-said-zora-tugging/)

[Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/)

> [There is a way to be a woman, ask for what we deserve and be able to negotiate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tracee-ellis-ross/there-is-a-way-to-be-a-woman-ask-for-what-we-deserve-and-be-able-to/)

[Tracee Ellis Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tracee-ellis-ross/)

Browse all 17,257 Able quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "When Hume and Adam Smith prophesied that a little increase of national debt beyond the then amount of it, would probably occasion bankruptcy; the main cause of their error was the natural one, of not being able to see the vast increase of productive power to which the nation would subsequently obtain.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Thomas Malthus"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/when-hume-and-adam-smith-prophesied-that-a-little-increase-of/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Able"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/when-hume-and-adam-smith-prophesied-that-a-little-increase-of/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/thomas-malthus-7621_able_when-hume-and-adam-smith-prophesied-that_2981786.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/thomas-malthus-7621_able_when-hume-and-adam-smith-prophesied-that_2981786.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/330/thomas-malthus-7621_able_when-hume-and-adam-smith-prophesied-that_2981786.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“When Hume and Adam Smith prophesied that a little increase of national debt beyond the then amount of it…” — Thomas Malthus",
                "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": "Thomas Malthus",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-malthus/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "When Hume and Adam Smith prophesied...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/when-hume-and-adam-smith-prophesied-that-a-little-increase-of/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-malthus/when-hume-and-adam-smith-prophesied-that-a-little-increase-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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```