The Improving State of the World
13 December 2007
Tom Flynn, Editor
Free Inquiry
Dear Mr. Flynn:
The great virtue of your publication is its skepticism of received wisdom that is unsupported by the empirical record. Unfortunately, in "Beyond Ponzi Economics" you abandon this skepticism to embrace the long-held faith that growing human population is a curse.
It's true that there are more of us live today than at any time in history. But it's also true that billions of us enjoy lives that are healthier, longer, richer in good experiences, and freer of tragic experiences than was true at any time in the past. This fact alone should cause you to doubt the ages-old fear that population growth necessarily portends catastrophe. More detailed evidence that your fear of population growth is unwarranted is found in Indur Goklany's 2007 book "The Improving State of the World: Why We're Living Longer, Healthier, More Comfortable Lives on a Cleaner Planet."* I encourage you to explore its findings.
As the late Julian Simon argued, human beings - especially those in free societies - are not simply passive consumers; we are creative problem solvers.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
* http://www.amazon.com/Improving-State-World-Healthier-Comfortable/dp/1930865988/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197560613&sr=1-1
Tom Flynn, Editor
Free Inquiry
Dear Mr. Flynn:
The great virtue of your publication is its skepticism of received wisdom that is unsupported by the empirical record. Unfortunately, in "Beyond Ponzi Economics" you abandon this skepticism to embrace the long-held faith that growing human population is a curse.
It's true that there are more of us live today than at any time in history. But it's also true that billions of us enjoy lives that are healthier, longer, richer in good experiences, and freer of tragic experiences than was true at any time in the past. This fact alone should cause you to doubt the ages-old fear that population growth necessarily portends catastrophe. More detailed evidence that your fear of population growth is unwarranted is found in Indur Goklany's 2007 book "The Improving State of the World: Why We're Living Longer, Healthier, More Comfortable Lives on a Cleaner Planet."* I encourage you to explore its findings.
As the late Julian Simon argued, human beings - especially those in free societies - are not simply passive consumers; we are creative problem solvers.
Sincerely,
Donald J. Boudreaux
Chairman, Department of Economics
George Mason University
* http://www.amazon.com/Improving-State-World-Healthier-Comfortable/dp/1930865988/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1197560613&sr=1-1
Posted by Don Boudreaux on
Monday May 19, 2008 at 10:52am