Thomas Robert Malthus

February 04, 2019

Refuting Malthus, and Thanos, in 60 seconds

One of the fiercest villains in the Marvel universe is Thanos – but he pales in comparison to economist and clergyman Thomas Malthus. An AEI scholar has produced a video refuting them both in less than one minute. Continue Reading...

November 15, 2018

Debunking the durable Malthusian myths

On his show yesterday, Rush Limbaugh discussed the famous bet between Julian Simon and Paul Ehrlich in 1980 over the question of whether or not the Earth had sufficient natural resources to sustain the growing global population. Continue Reading...

June 18, 2018

Berkeley’s ‘mass extinction’ scare just more Malthusian mythology

Too often, environmentalists seem to see humans as a cancer mutilating the earth’s natural splendor, but the idea that fewer people is the solution to the earth’s woes ignores the incredible creative capacity inherent in the human mind. Continue Reading...

September 07, 2016

Rise of the ‘super-neo-reverse Malthusians’

The doom delusions of central planners and population “experts” are well documented and refuted, ranging from the early pessimism of the Rev. Thomas Robert Malthus to the more fanatical predictions of Paul Ehrlich. Continue Reading...

March 13, 2015

Clergy, Innovation, and Economics

This is a bit second-hand (a source drawing from another source), but I still think the following tidbit on the modern history of clergy and scientific and technological development and discovery in the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries from Nassim Taleb’s Antifragile is notable: Knowledge formation, even when theoretical, takes time, some boredom, and the freedom that comes from having another occupation, therefore allowing one to escape the journalistic-style pressure of modern publish-and-perish [sic, probably intentionally] academia to produce cosmetic knowledge, much like the counterfeit watches one buys in Chinatown in New York City, the type that you know is counterfeit although it looks like the real thing. Continue Reading...

November 05, 2013

A Third Way Between Human and Bugger Malthusianism

I and Jordan Ballor have already commented on Ender’s Game this week (here and here), but the story is literally packed with insightful themes, many of which touch upon issues relevant to Acton’s core principles. Continue Reading...

September 19, 2012

Economists and Clergy

Tyler Cowen fielded an interesting topic on his blog last week, focusing on economists who are (or were) clergy. There’s an interesting list, including notables like the Salamancans, Paul Heyne, and Heinrich Pesch. Continue Reading...

March 09, 2012

Malthus and the Contraceptive Mandate

“The power of population,” wrote the Rev. Thomas Robert Malthus in 1798, “is indefinitely greater than the power in the earth to produce subsistence for man.” In other words, unless population growth is checked by moral restraint (refraining from having babies) or disaster (disease, famine, war) widespread poverty and degradation inevitably result. Continue Reading...