How Capitalism Saved th Whales; J.S. Robbins

Fixation on doomsaying can cause environmen talists to forget that the negative consequences of industrialization are minute compared to the pos itive developments of the industrial age. People are healthier, live longer, and are more productive than ever before in history.But defenders of indus trialism can go even further to show that in many cases technological progress has benefited the environment. This is vividly demonstrated in the case of one of the most emotion-laden symbols of environmentalism, the whales. At the dawn of the industrial age, whales were an important natural resource which humans had been exploiting for centuries. Whales were espe ciallyvalued for their oil, which was used primarily as fuel for lamps. It was also used for heating, for lubrication, soap, paint and varnish manufacturJames S. Robbins, who has a Ph.D. from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, is an assistant editor of Liberty magazine and has written for The Wall Street Journal.