@humanprogress (Twitter)

According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, the annual rate of deforestation has more than halved since the 1990s.

In 1968, a 23” color TV cost $2,544 or 125 hours of labor in the manufacturing sector. In 2018, a 24” HD LED TV cost $99.99 or 4.7 hours of labor in the same sector. That’s a reduction of 96 per cent in terms of human effort.

Americans are five times more likely to marry someone of a different race or ethnicity than in 1967 (and other stats on racial progress since the 1960s). https://humanprogress.org/article.php?p=1713 #HumanProgressData

Since the new millennium's start, Africa's average per capita income rose by more than 50 percent.

Capitalism is one the most cooperative of human endeavors. Repeated transactions among trading parties encourage trustworthiness-- a moral side product of capitalism that we do not spend enough time talking about, let alone celebrating.

Chile is the most economically free country in Latin America. Venezuela is the least free economy in the world. https://buff.ly/2DyiGC5

In the late 1950s, Venezuelans were richer than Americans. Today, Venezuelans are starving. Americans should think twice before succumbing to the siren call of socialism. https://buff.ly/2RenCzB

"Poverty is not a result of lack of resources or opportunities, but of poor institutions, poor government, and toxic politics." - Angus Deaton

“Capitalism has worked very well. Anyone who wants to move to North Korea is welcome." - Bill Gates

I love this series from @HumanProgress. I wish I could have met Norman Borlaug, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate whose work in agriculture has greatly influenced my thinking.