One of the most famous bets in history was made between Julian Simon and Paul Ehrlich in 1980. Simon, a libertarian economist, let Paul Ehrlich, a “neo-Malthusian” concerned about the rapid growth of population, choose five metals that Ehrlich believed would increase in price over the next decade. If the commodities increased in price, Ehrlich’s concern about resource depletion would be vindicated. If not, Simon would be proved correct that technological progress and markets could provide a seemingly unlimited supply of goods. Simon won handily, and Ehrlich sent him a $576.07 check in 1990. (If Ehrlich had specified a longer time period, one lasting until 2011, he would have been vindicated.)
via The limits of techno-optimism – The Week.
