Millions of people around the world are alive because of the achievements of Norman Borlaug. Few of them will ever hear his name, even though many, many more will hear of George Bush and Barack Obama and Vladimir Putin and all the other expropriators with puffed-up egos who rule us, and who invariably claim for themselves all the credit for the work that was actually done by scientists, farmers, truck drivers, entrepreneurs, philanthropists, construction workers, and the other varied occupations of great societies. (Of course, by simply limiting their power — no easy task that! — and providing the rule of law, they help to make it possible for people to cooperate, and for the people to produce wealth. So they do have a role, but no more than clearing away obstacles created by their predecessors and creating frameworks for peaceful cooperation.)
The Daily Telegraph: Norman Borlaug
Don Boudreaux on Borlaug at Cafe Hayek: “Dark Green Day“
[…] Comments I was among that uncouth faction that did not know who Normal Borlaug is until his death. Tom Palmer’s respectful, Randian eulogy says it best: Millions of people around the world are alive because of the achievements of Norman […]