While it’s hard to argue with his main thesis I was impatient Leaders and some on the far left and right of politics is based, he argues, onĪn underappreciation of all that has been achieved. The idea of tearing down the current,Īpparently broken, institutions and starting again, espoused by populist Suggested by those with a more negative outlook.
More likely we are to continue along the same path. Things relentlessly in the right direction and the more we appreciate that, the The book does not seek to dismiss or underplay all the Many of them felt the need to vote for change. Harked back fondly to a supposed golden age when we were poorer, less wellĮducated, less tolerant, more racist and homophobic, worked longer hours, breathed Take the result of the EU referendum as an example. In human nature, help to explain the discrepancy between reality and our state The graph are irresistible to headline writers – and readers.Īlthough we are programmed to focus on the most disturbingĪspects of current events, we tend towards the opposite outlook when thinkingĪbout the past – the good bits are remembered fondly, while the unpleasant experiencesĪre more likely to be erased from memory. Progress,īy its very nature, is largely gradual and slips by unnoticed while blips in It could have run everyĭay for the last 30 years and it is backed up by good evidence. Trumpeting the fact that the number of people in extreme poverty fell by overġ00,000 worldwide. Yet, consider a hypothetical newspaper headline Violent crime may reduce in nine years out of ten but it is the Poverty – and the less common these things become, the more they make the To headlines and images depicting violence, crime, cruelty, unfairness and Why is this? Primarily it is the innate human tendency to payĪttention to things that are disturbing and unsettling. This undeniable progress is at odds with the way most people This planet (being assigned a random country to live out your life) you would Things considered, if you were able to choose the timing of your appearance on That both the US and UK have bucked that particular trend in recent decades. Even wealth inequality has tended to reduce over time though it is interesting For all these things, and more, there is hardĭata to prove the point and the graphs presented in the book tell a convincing We work less, play more, have more choice and we are happier (as far as We live longer, enjoy better healthcare, areīetter educated, less likely to die violently and less likely to be victims ofĬrime. Revolution and ‘progress’ driven by research, industry and wealth creation. The premise of this book is that by almost any metric youĬare to choose, things have got better for humans as a result of the scientific
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