Since the days of powdered wigs, so-called experts have predicted that economic growth would soon collide with hard physical limits. According to some intellectuals, the world has always been running out of food, oil, and just about everything that advances civilization.
The predictions change over time, but the unwavering belief is that improvements in living standards are not sustainable. Economist Thomas Malthus warned in 1798 that population growth would overwhelm food production, leading to widespread starvation. The 1970s brought “The Limits to Growth,” a report by the Club of Rome that predicted resource depletion would lead to “a rather sudden and uncontrollable decline.”