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The economic logic behind the ultimate resource

Author

Listed:
  • Peter J. Boettke

    (George Mason University)

  • Christopher J. Coyne

    (George Mason University)

Abstract

Using economic reasoning, Julian Simon offered crucial insights into a range of pressing issues including the environment, immigration, and economic development. The main lesson from Simon’s scholarship is that the ultimate resource does not reside in the ground (natural resources), or even in the accumulated wisdom and knowledge in books and scientific journals (human capital), but in the imagination of people. Through their purposeful actions, people turn their thoughts and aspiration into a new reality that enables immense improvements in the human condition. In making this argument, Simon articulated the core ideas of Ludwig von Mises, F.A. Hayek, and Israel Kirzner regarding the discovery and use of knowledge in society, and the role of entrepreneurship as the prime mover of progress. This paper makes this intellectual connection clear.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter J. Boettke & Christopher J. Coyne, 2022. "The economic logic behind the ultimate resource," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 35(3), pages 303-314, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:revaec:v:35:y:2022:i:3:d:10.1007_s11138-022-00571-2
    DOI: 10.1007/s11138-022-00571-2
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Pierre Desrochers & Vincent Geloso & Joanna Szurmak, 2021. "Care to Wager Again? An Appraisal of Paul Ehrlich's Counterbet Offer to Julian Simon, Part 2: Critical Analysis," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 102(2), pages 808-829, March.
    2. Boettke, Peter J. & Coyne, Christopher J., 2009. "Context Matters: Institutions and Entrepreneurship," Foundations and Trends(R) in Entrepreneurship, now publishers, vol. 5(3), pages 135-209, March.
    3. Kenneth Arrow & Partha Dasgupta & Lawrence Goulder & Gretchen Daily & Paul Ehrlich & Geoffrey Heal & Simon Levin & Karl-Göran Mäler & Stephen Schneider & David Starrett & Brian Walker, 2004. "Are We Consuming Too Much?," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 18(3), pages 147-172, Summer.
    4. Smith, Adam, 1776. "An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations," History of Economic Thought Books, McMaster University Archive for the History of Economic Thought, number smith1776.
    5. Pierre Desrochers & Vincent Geloso & Joanna Szurmak, 2021. "Care to Wager Again? An Appraisal of Paul Ehrlich's Counterbet Offer to Julian Simon, Part 1: Outcomes," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 102(2), pages 786-807, March.
    6. Peter Boettke, 2018. "Economics and Public Administration," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 84(4), pages 938-959, April.
    7. Romer, Paul M., 2018. "On the Possibility of Progress," Nobel Prize in Economics documents 2018-4, Nobel Prize Committee.
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    Cited by:

    1. Peter Jacobsen & Louis Rouanet, 2022. "The ultimate resource after 40: A special issue against the grain," The Review of Austrian Economics, Springer;Society for the Development of Austrian Economics, vol. 35(3), pages 275-282, September.

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