In the mid-nineteenth century Malthusian theory predicted the mass starvation of the world's population because the number of people would increase faster than the food supply. In the last 150 years the planet has increased from 1B to 8B souls. There are plenty of problems with the distribution of food around the world. But I suspect that about the same percentage of the world's population is hungry that was 150 years ago.
Karl Marx predicted that the proletariat would rise up and create a worker's utopia. Marx was wrong (and dead to boot - Castro to join him in hell shortly).
The Democrats of the 1960's predicted that the world was destined for a nuclear winter and a "Mad Max" scenario.
The Club of Rome predicted 30 years ago that the world would soon run out of energy resulting in economic collapse.
This year Al Gore won an Oscar and the Nobel Peace Price for a movie that scientists who actually study the environment for a living, and specifically the composition of the atmosphere and the effect of changes on it, say is preposterous nonsense.
Never underestimate the will of humans to survive and the inventiveness of people to solve the next problem facing the planet - or the fact that alarmism will always be alive and well.
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2 comments:
Hi Ken,
I love your blog "A Legacy of Alarmism" As a mother of a level-minded 21 year old but has a mind of his own at this age how would you explain "Global Warming", since they fear it with all the media, movies and talking with their peers. But don't don't believe in their parents belief.
Also I would like to read your thoughts about Nostradamus, another thing the media is making a sensation out of that young people believe.
I love your last paragraph, is this is your quote?
Patty,
Yes, the last paragraph is all mine.
Regarding global warming, I will be posting some more thought on that probably as early this weekend to provide further context on the subject. In the meantime I have an older post from October 13th with a link to an op-ed piece on some aspects of the subject in the Washington Post that is quite good. The blog entry is titled "Common Sense Responses to Global Warming". If you go back into the older posts you can find it.
Regarding Nostradamus I'm afraid I can't help you out much there. I haven't read any of material ascribed to him. I know it is in the news now and again - and has been lately. I guess my basic feeling is that you look at the dire prophacies of any "mystic" from 500 years ago you make a case for it having predicted some recent or historical event. But honestly, I don't put much stock in it. There are lots of better ways to spend you time and lots of better ways to understand the past, present and future.
Ken
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