Human Progress(@HumanProgress):Today is the anniversary of the Simon-Ehrlich Bet, one of the most famous wagers in economic history. The biologist Paul Ehrlich had long argued that population growth would push up against hard limits, leading to resource scarcity and population collapse. The economist Julian Simon claimed the opposite: that more minds would mean more innovation and, ultimately, more abundance. On Sept. 29, 1980, they made a bet, putting their competing views of humanity's relationship to scarcity to a 10-year test.

2026.09.29 14:10

Today is the anniversary of the Simon-Ehrlich Bet, one of the most famous wagers in economic history. The biologist Paul Ehrlich had long argued that population growth would push up against hard limits, leading to resource scarcity and population collapse. The economist Julian Simon claimed the opposite: that more minds would mean more innovation and, ultimately, more abundance. On Sept. 29, 1980, they made a bet, putting their competing views of humanity's relationship to scarcity to a 10-year test.