Matt, this is an excellent article. It never ceases to amaze how people like Ehrlich can be proven wrong, over and over, and never own up to their mistake(s). And they remain quasi heroes of the progressive elite….how can we deal with actual problems if we are married to ideologies despite what actual facts on the ground tell us. To date every Malthusian prediction of impending doom, since Thomas Malthus original prediction, have been proved wrong, mostly due to technological innovation.
I used to be amazed as well, but not anymore. I've realized that people who celebrate "experts" like Ehrlich don't care about accuracy or even logic, they only care whether they are aligned with their preferred views.
He was the forerunner of the swathe of "Armageddon is coming " doorsteps who jump on "Clinate" (weather) bandwagon today. He was monumentally wrong about almost every major point yet his ego wouldn't let up and he continued to double down on his nonsense. The problem was that people who should have known better listened to him. He did a lot of damage as do the doom merchants of today. My prediction is that we will be writing similar articles about Al Gore in 20 or 30 years time.
Thanks for the memories. I remember as a young and highly impressionable youth reading the Population Bomb in 1970 as a part of a high school class intended to raise my “consciousness” to the evils of capitalism and a Western construction of “progress”. I devoured Ehrlich’s ideas and all the other then fashionable “Small is Beautiful” bomides. The nonsense (viz non-science) of Ehrlich was a stimulus for follow on efforts like the Green New Deal movement, the fear mongering of Al Gore, and the so-called “97% of all climate scientist” who all agree that humans are a principal cause driving climate change. Thanks for all your excellent efforts Matt to educate the world on the benefits from applying critical and analytical thought to the fearmongerers, and doomsayers like Ehrlich.
Excellent piece. It’s not any different than the Climate Change Catastrophists of today. Or, the anti oil/gas/coal crowd, and those that claim electricity is less expensive and cleaner from unreliable grid scale wind and solar. Far too many people believe what is spread by legacy media and thru internet narratives. As stated, look at the history, the world as a whole is healthier and wealthier than it was when all these claims were made.
What bothers me the most is that the "liberal" media gave PE a platform right until the end. And the NY Times obit didn't say he was wrong, just "premature."
I don't think I could argue that don't I have TDS, but I don't have to lie like this. I can loath DJT and his policies and not spout proven falsehoods. (Just as I don't have to lie about Ehrlich.)
The NTY made an active choice re: "premature," and they do with many other things, to feed the desires of their "tribe."
It is hard to not be tribal, I know, but it still makes me sad.
You MUST read them in order to understand the arguments they make, and provide cogent arguments against them. If you don't understand the things that want to destroy you, you are doomed to failure.
Somewhat related, I remember where I was living somewhere between 1976 and 1980 when I canceled my Scientific American subscription. Issues back then always began with some ideological article. Some were sane, but some were nonsense, and this one had the thesis that communist capital cities were better than capitalist capital cities. It concentrated the sewage and pollution all in one place! It crowded people!
The prime example was the two Koreas. The picture of Seoul was a shopping district, full of people, shopping bags color, window displays -- life! The picture of Pyongyang was devoid of people, dark, gloomy, and might as well have been a black and white photo for all I could tell.
It's been a long time, I guess close to 50 years by now, and I've occasionally made efforts to find it in back issues, but never had the patience or google skills. I'm sure I have some of the details wrong, but the gist correct.
I just do not understand these professional pessimists, or why they get so much press and prizes.
Often wrong, but never in doubt… that is the creed of “the sky is falling” crowd. The exact opposite of Keynes, who famously said, “when the facts change, I change my mind”.
I remember Paul well as my husband and I had our second daughter at Stanford hospital (I think Paul was a professor there) and were told we shouldn't have any more children (zero population control). We had our last daughter in New Jersey!
Ehrlich was Thanos' hero.
Matt, this is an excellent article. It never ceases to amaze how people like Ehrlich can be proven wrong, over and over, and never own up to their mistake(s). And they remain quasi heroes of the progressive elite….how can we deal with actual problems if we are married to ideologies despite what actual facts on the ground tell us. To date every Malthusian prediction of impending doom, since Thomas Malthus original prediction, have been proved wrong, mostly due to technological innovation.
I used to be amazed as well, but not anymore. I've realized that people who celebrate "experts" like Ehrlich don't care about accuracy or even logic, they only care whether they are aligned with their preferred views.
So many things look fait a complait on paper..... But real life has a habit of making paper arguments look foolish.
He was the forerunner of the swathe of "Armageddon is coming " doorsteps who jump on "Clinate" (weather) bandwagon today. He was monumentally wrong about almost every major point yet his ego wouldn't let up and he continued to double down on his nonsense. The problem was that people who should have known better listened to him. He did a lot of damage as do the doom merchants of today. My prediction is that we will be writing similar articles about Al Gore in 20 or 30 years time.
gee, I hope it's sooner than that.
Thanks for the memories. I remember as a young and highly impressionable youth reading the Population Bomb in 1970 as a part of a high school class intended to raise my “consciousness” to the evils of capitalism and a Western construction of “progress”. I devoured Ehrlich’s ideas and all the other then fashionable “Small is Beautiful” bomides. The nonsense (viz non-science) of Ehrlich was a stimulus for follow on efforts like the Green New Deal movement, the fear mongering of Al Gore, and the so-called “97% of all climate scientist” who all agree that humans are a principal cause driving climate change. Thanks for all your excellent efforts Matt to educate the world on the benefits from applying critical and analytical thought to the fearmongerers, and doomsayers like Ehrlich.
Excellent piece. It’s not any different than the Climate Change Catastrophists of today. Or, the anti oil/gas/coal crowd, and those that claim electricity is less expensive and cleaner from unreliable grid scale wind and solar. Far too many people believe what is spread by legacy media and thru internet narratives. As stated, look at the history, the world as a whole is healthier and wealthier than it was when all these claims were made.
Thanks so much, Matt. You're the best.
What bothers me the most is that the "liberal" media gave PE a platform right until the end. And the NY Times obit didn't say he was wrong, just "premature."
This is why we can't have nice things.
And this is also why the NY Times and their ilk are losing circulation.
Why would you read any outlet that says stuff like that? You can't trust them. I'd love for it to be otherwise, but facts are clear.
Used to read the Sunday NY Times since local Sunday papers were so bad, dropped them in 17 when they went full TDS.
I don't think I could argue that don't I have TDS, but I don't have to lie like this. I can loath DJT and his policies and not spout proven falsehoods. (Just as I don't have to lie about Ehrlich.)
The NTY made an active choice re: "premature," and they do with many other things, to feed the desires of their "tribe."
It is hard to not be tribal, I know, but it still makes me sad.
You MUST read them in order to understand the arguments they make, and provide cogent arguments against them. If you don't understand the things that want to destroy you, you are doomed to failure.
I still subscribe ($4/mo e-edition). But the opinion stuff generally has negative value!
Somewhat related, I remember where I was living somewhere between 1976 and 1980 when I canceled my Scientific American subscription. Issues back then always began with some ideological article. Some were sane, but some were nonsense, and this one had the thesis that communist capital cities were better than capitalist capital cities. It concentrated the sewage and pollution all in one place! It crowded people!
The prime example was the two Koreas. The picture of Seoul was a shopping district, full of people, shopping bags color, window displays -- life! The picture of Pyongyang was devoid of people, dark, gloomy, and might as well have been a black and white photo for all I could tell.
It's been a long time, I guess close to 50 years by now, and I've occasionally made efforts to find it in back issues, but never had the patience or google skills. I'm sure I have some of the details wrong, but the gist correct.
I just do not understand these professional pessimists, or why they get so much press and prizes.
Fear sells.
I can forgive Ehrlich for his predictions, but not for his failure to "come clean".
Thanks Matt (& ROS).
Often wrong, but never in doubt… that is the creed of “the sky is falling” crowd. The exact opposite of Keynes, who famously said, “when the facts change, I change my mind”.
Thanks for articulating this so clearly.
Matt,
A good article and a reminder to stay calm in troubled times.
I remember Paul well as my husband and I had our second daughter at Stanford hospital (I think Paul was a professor there) and were told we shouldn't have any more children (zero population control). We had our last daughter in New Jersey!
Ehrlich was wrong - for now, and for the "wrong" reasons. Exploding population and "global warming" are the wrong reasons.
He was the perfect example of post modern progressivism: Mandated failure upward.
God save us from nerds with such hubris.
Great article.
Perhaps predictions of impending doom act as spurs to technological innovation.