If You're Curious About These Questions...
You should listen to this audiobook
- How does the 'bell-shaped curve' of national wealth challenge the common belief that economic prosperity is the primary enemy of environmental conservation?
- In what ways did the shift from relying on plunder to engaging in global commerce drastically reduce the lethality and frequency of wars between nations?
- What specific historical and technological catalysts caused extreme global poverty to plummet from over 44 percent in 1981 to under 10 percent in 2015?
Listen to Progress — Free Audiobook
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Key Takeaways from Progress
- Thanks to advances in urban sanitation and evidence-based medicine, global life expectancy has more than doubled since the early twentieth century.
- The expansion of global trade, mechanization, and the dismantling of oppressive regimes have driven extreme global poverty to an all-time low.
- Environmental protection is heavily dependent on economic prosperity, as nations consistently prioritize conservation and cleaner technologies once their basic survival needs are met.
- We are currently living in one of the most peaceful eras in history, largely because global commerce makes value exchange far more profitable than warfare and plunder.
- Rising global affluence and mass literacy campaigns have nearly eradicated child labor while fostering significantly more tolerant, democratic, and egalitarian societies.
Progress — Full Chapter Overview
Chapter 1: Recommendation
Chapter 2: Hunger is gradually fading away thanks to better food production.
Chapter 3: Better sanitation and modern medicine have greatly boosted how long we live.
Chapter 4: People today are richer than before and extreme poverty is at a historic low.
Chapter 5: We are living through one of the most peaceful times in human history.
Chapter 6: Our natural world is also gaining from rising prosperity across the globe.
Chapter 7: Schooling and learning have surged worldwide over the past two centuries.
Chapter 8: Democracy and tolerance worldwide have expanded freedom and reduced inequality.
Chapter 9: The next generations can carry forward and extend the progress we’ve achieved.
Progress Summary & Overview
Progress (2016) is a broadside against the naysayers and pessimists who argue that things are constantly getting worse. Citing improvements in freedom, equality, health and wealth as evidence, Johan Norberg argues that we’ve made huge strides toward a better world. In fact, our species has never been better off. But that’s not the only gladdening news. If current trends are anything to go by, we’re also in for a rosy future.
Who Should Listen to Progress?
- Pessimists who think the glass is always half empty
- Politics nerds who love a good argument
- Futurologists who want a picture of tomorrow’s world
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