Difference between revisions of "The Population Bomb"
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:The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970s and 1980s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now. At this late date nothing can prevent a substantial increase in the world death rate .... | :The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970s and 1980s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now. At this late date nothing can prevent a substantial increase in the world death rate .... | ||
| − | Conservatives at the time objected to the book, which was based on the premise that the food supply would not increase to keep up with population growth. In fact, the food supply increases at a rate faster than population growth, as a person can grow far more | + | Conservatives at the time objected to the book, which was based on the premise that the food supply would not increase to keep up with population growth. In fact, the food supply increases at a rate faster than population growth, as a person can grow far more food than is necessary to feed himself. |
Ehrlich was not even original in his falsehood. His theory was a more calamitous version of the theory proposed by [[Thomas Malthus]] centuries earlier. | Ehrlich was not even original in his falsehood. His theory was a more calamitous version of the theory proposed by [[Thomas Malthus]] centuries earlier. | ||
Revision as of 19:19, March 10, 2007
The Population Bomb (1968), a book written by Paul R. Ehrlich, was immensely popular among liberals and taught in high schools throughout the 1970s. The book' thesis was completely false.
The book declared that:
- The battle to feed all of humanity is over. In the 1970s and 1980s hundreds of millions of people will starve to death in spite of any crash programs embarked upon now. At this late date nothing can prevent a substantial increase in the world death rate ....
Conservatives at the time objected to the book, which was based on the premise that the food supply would not increase to keep up with population growth. In fact, the food supply increases at a rate faster than population growth, as a person can grow far more food than is necessary to feed himself.
Ehrlich was not even original in his falsehood. His theory was a more calamitous version of the theory proposed by Thomas Malthus centuries earlier.
The false theories of population growth underlying the book continue to be held by proponents of population control today, though they no longer cite the book as an authority.
A bestseller with the public, the book ranks #11 on a conservative list of the worst books of the 19th and 20th century.[1]
