When the bad news swirls, take a walk on the bright side
A look at how far we have come in the past five decades offers many reasons to smile through the gloom
As terror attacks dominate global headlines and politicians continue to disappoint our already low expectations of them, it is understandable to feel dejected and dispirited at the foibles of our human race. Previous optimism has dwindled, the horizon is more opaque, and even the most optimistic among us wake up worrying over our children’s future in an uncertain world. While these concerns are undeniable, real and difficult to predict, I thought it might be worthwhile to take a step back and focus on the good that has been accomplished (particularly in the past 50 years) as innovation and technology have improved our standard of living and quality of life. As Matt Ridley points out in his book The Rational Optimist: “Some of the billions alive today still live in misery and want even worse than the worse experienced in the Stone Age. Some are worse off than they were a few months or years before. But the vast majority of people are much better fed, much better sheltered, much bette...
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