War,pestilence,and famine were called ____ checks by Thomas Malthus.

A) preventive measures
B) vices
C) positive checks
D) fertility control
E) negative checks

Thomas Malthus believed that war, pestilence, and famine were natural ways of controlling the population growth, which is why he called them positive checks. These were seen as positive because they helped to reduce the population to a level that could be sustained by the available resources. The other options are not correct because they do not accurately describe Malthus' theory of population growth and control. Preventive measures and fertility control, for example, were strategies that Malthus proposed to limit population growth, while vices do not play a specific role in his theory. Negative checks, on the other hand, refer to the natural limits on population growth, such as disease, aging, and natural disasters.