Money quote:

"That culture of pessimism saps the very ambition most needed to innovate out of the very real problems the pessimists worry about. Ehrlich’s crisis-driven mentality also fosters top-down, technocratic policymaking—as if the future were an impending disaster that required emergency planning. The optimism of Smith and Simon is pragmatic in recognizing the challenges of population growth (among other things), but also that these problems can only be solved by more and better technologies generated by more minds working in larger, better markets. Neither minds nor markets can flourish without freedom to experiment with new ideas, technologies and business models."