World's Worst Disease Identified

Tom Blumer found an interesting piece on the World's Worst Disease by Rich Karlgaard writing in the 1/9/2006 Forbes. Since registration is required, Bizzy Blog has an extensive excerpt. Here's the premise:

The sickest thinking–and the source of most of human misery throughout the ages–is based on the following beliefs:
• The Earth is running out of resources;
• People consume more than they contribute;
• Wealth is a zero-sum distribution game.

Go read the rest, especially the links under the Update. Certain economists got a little sniffy with Karlgaard's broad-stroke description of academia as dominated by zero-sum-game thinking.