Thomas Midgley Jr. and the Limits of 'Productivity-Raising'

Thomas Midgley Jr. invented two of the most productivity-raising, competitively-produced inputs of the 20th century: leaded gasoline and CFCs.

Both were obviously good by that standard.

One poisoned three generations. The other punched a hole in the ozone layer.

More intelligence will make us richer, healthier, better taught. Kevin is right about that.

But “productivity-raising input” describes a transition, not a destination — and every transition relocates value before it expands it. x.com

Verification has to scale with capability. Burden-of-proof arguments only work when the proof arrives in time. Midgley’s didn’t.

Originally published as a thread on X.