The Rational Optimist How Prosperity Evolves (PDF) (Print)

Life is getting betterÑand at an accelerating rate. Food availability, income, and life span are up; disease, child mortality, and violence are down Ñ all across the globe. Though the world is far from perfect, necessities and luxuries alike are getting cheaper; population growth is slowing; Africa is following Asia out of poverty; the Internet, the mobile phone, and container shipping are enriching peopleÕs lives as never before. The pessimists who dominate public discourse insist that we will soon reach a turning point and things will start to get worse. But they have been saying this for two hundred years.