RIP Norman Borlaug

Dead at 95, the Nobel Peace Prize winner in 1970 for being “ the father of the green revolution.”

I had the chance to see his Nobel medal two and a half years ago at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library. As many as 1 billion people in the developing world today may have him to thank.

And, I can appreciate Borlaug’s work while also pointing out the failure in trying to make him a closet libertarian. Reason magazine hoists itself by its own petard, and, a number of its readers show themselves clueless of paleoanthropology and other matters scientific; so much for "intelligent libertarian" stereotypes.

To that end, in the NYT’s obit, Borlaug directly answers the Reason folks who would use him to debunk Paul Ehrlich, with him saying we still need to address population growth.

Borlaug also partially accepted critics’ comments about the possible overuse of fertilizers.

Finally, the story notes Borlaug spent his last years battling a new variety of wheat rust, the disease apparently “beaten” with his work in Mexico.

The “salvific technologism” of Reason types may just be trumped again, and not for the first time.