And the people in Panama may, in return, purchase computers built in Canada. Because of the uneven nature of talent and natural resources we trade to improve our standard of living. Every one of his major predictions regarding the problems of overpopulation have fallen by the wayside, discredited and ridiculed. His previous theories of overpopulation have been disproven and he has to break new ground if anyone is going to take him seriously. But his new ground is even more absurd than the old.
Nations specialize in much the same way that people do.
Consider for a moment the actions of your household or your community. Because it would be economically inefficient for you to try and produce everything you use. You may be living in a manufacturing community, say one that produces a large number of shoes. You import all the grain you consume from communities that have a lot of grain but are short on shoes. Yet, according to Ehrlich, no doubt disparate to save his discredited theories, this is proof that your community is overpopulated.