William Vogt

William Vogt (1902-1968) was the former secretary of the Conservation Foundation.

"Fairfield Osborn's close associate, William Vogt, head of the Conservation Section of the Pan American Union, and author of the neo-Malthusian tract The Road to Survival (1948)... argued that "one of the greatest national assets of Chile, perhaps the greatest asset, is its high death rate." And in an infamous passage entitled "The Dangerous Doctor" he declared:


 * "The modern medical profession, still framing its ethics on the dubious statements of an ignorant man [Hippocrates] who lived more than two thousand years ago ... continues to believe it has a duty to keep alive as many people as possible. In many parts of the world doctors apply their intelligence to one aspect of man's welfare—survival—and deny their moral right to apply it to the problem as a whole. Through medical care and improved sanitation they are responsible for more millions living more years in increasing misery. Their refusal to consider their responsibility in these matters does not seem to them to compromise their intellectual integrity.... They set the stage for disaster; then, like Pilate, they wash their hands of the consequences."

Paul R. Ehrlich, author of the 1971 bestseller The Population Bomb, is said to have attributed his Malthusian perspective on population growth and the biophysical environment to a lecture by Vogt that he attended while in college.

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