Julian Simon
1932-1998
Julian L. Simonprofessor of business administration at the University
of Maryland, senior fellow at the Cato Institute,
and member of the Acton Institute's advisory boarddied
February 8 of a heart attack at his Chevy Chase home. He was sixty-five.
Dr. Simon is best known for his work in the fields of population growth and
resource use. In contrast to the Malthusian predictions of famine and misery
from population control advocates, Simon argued that, due to his capacity for
creativity and imagination, man is the single greatest resource on the planet.
He published scores of books
and articles exploring this thesis, including The Ultimate Resource
(now The Ultimate Resource 2) and Population Matters.
A lively defender of individual liberty, Dr. Simon never passed up an opportunity
to point out the moral and practical superiority of the free society over against
the failures and follies of the centralized state. Furthermore, all his work
was undergirded by sound reasoning coupled with reams of supporting data. He
never made a statement not backed up by facts, and he could not countenance
the unsupported assertion, the shabbily thought-through argument, and the logical
fallacy.
Dr. Simon graduated from Harvard University,
where he completed the ROTC program, and later served as a naval officer before
receiving an M.A. in business administration and a Ph.D. from the University
of Chicago Business School. He ran his own mail-order firm before becoming
a professor. In addition, he is the inventor of the airline overbooking plan,
used since 1978 on all United States airlines, which solves the overbooking
problem by calling for volunteers instead of bumping people involuntarily.
Survivors include his wife, Rita James Simon, and his two sons, one daughter
and granddaughter.
Additional Links:
- Julian Simon's personal home
page, which includes his vitae,
a list of his writings,
and a brief biographical
sketch.
- A fine tribute
to Julian Simon by Ben Wattenberg from The Wall Street Journal, Februrary
11, 1998.
- An interview with Julian
Simon by Acton Institute President Rev. Robert A. Sirico that summarizes his
views on population growth, the environment, and immigration
- A delightful article
about Julian Simon from Wired magazine with a lively account of his
famous wager with Paul Ehrlich.
- Works by Julian Simon available for purchase from Laissez
Faire Books.
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