Skip to main content
Book Forum

Superabundance: The Story of Population Growth, Innovation, and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet

Published By Cato Institute •
Watch the Event
Superabundance: The Story of Population Growth, Innovation, and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet
Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0%
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time 0:00
 
1x
  • Chapters
  • descriptions off, selected
  • captions off, selected

      Join the conversation on X using #CatoBooks. Follow @CatoInstitute on X to get future event updates, live streams, and videos from the Cato Institute.

      Date and Time
      -
      Location
      Cato Institute, 1000 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC
      Share This Event
      Featuring

      Adjunct Scholar, Cato Institute, and Associate Professor of Business Management, Brigham Young University–Hawaii

      David M. Simon cropped
      David M. Simon

      Senior Fellow, Committee to Unleash Prosperity

      Lawrence Summers portrait
      Lawrence H. Summers

      Charles W. Eliot University Professor, Harvard University

      Generations of people have been taught that population growth makes resources scarcer. In 2021, for example, one widely publicized report argued, “The world’s rapidly growing population is consuming the planet’s natural resources at an alarming rate.… The world currently needs 1.6 Earths to satisfy the demand for natural resources … [a figure that] could rise to 2 planets by 2030.” But is that true? After analyzing the prices of hundreds of commodities, goods, and services spanning two centuries, Marian Tupy and Gale Pooley found that resources became more abundant as the population grew. That was especially true when they looked at “time prices,” which represent the length of time that people must work to buy something. The authors also found that resource abundance increased faster than the population―a relationship that they call “superabundance.” They conclude that, on average, every additional human being creates more value than he or she consumes. Please join us for the official launch of Cato’s latest book: Superabundance: The Story of Population Growth, Innovation, and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet.

      Note: Lawrence H. Summers will be joining the conference virtually.

      Reception to follow

      Superabundance cover
      Featured Book

      Superabundance: The Story of Population Growth, Innovation, and Human Flourishing on an Infinitely Bountiful Planet

      After analyzing the prices of hundreds of commodities, goods, and services spanning two centuries, Marian Tupy and Gale Pooley found that resources became more abundant as the population grew. That was especially true when they looked at “time prices,” which represent the length of time that people must work to buy something.