@humanprogress (Twitter)

Ancient & medieval thinkers generally took a pessimistic view of humanity's future. But this perspective has changed in modern times. Now we expect progress. Learn what changed: http://bit.ly/2JLILl8 @HumanProgress @feeonline #TuesdayThoughts

Historians have found considerable evidence showing that free markets evolved 4,000 years ago in the Middle East.

In 1916, no matter how rich you were, you wouldn't be able to enjoy air conditioning, TV, smart phones, the Internet, timely transportation, contact lenses, international food, antibiotics, effective dental care, a high likelihood of surviving infancy...

"This is perhaps the most important fact about wellbeing in the world since World War II: that things are getting better, that both the health and income parts of wellbeing have improved over time." - Deaton

For the first 99.9 percent of humanity's time on earth, progress was painfully slow. Then everything suddenly changed. Why? https://buff.ly/2GfEYeO

Six out of the ten worst famines of the 20th century happened because of central planning.

Thanos, a supervillain intent on killing half of humanity to fight "overpopulation," makes for an entertaining action movie plot. Less amusing are the horrific real-life policies that have been implemented because of overpopulation myths.

The rate of extinctions is dropping. Bird and mammal extinctions peaked at 1.6 a year around 1900 and have since dropped to about 0.2 a year. The extinction rate has fallen farther in rich countries, where people can afford to pay for a cleaner environment

"The total number of dollar-a-day poor people in the world fell by three-quarters of a billion between 1981 and 2008 in spite of an increase in the total population of poor countries of about two billion." - Deaton

Asked, “Do you think the world is getting better or worse," just 10% in Sweden, 6% in the US, 4% in Germany and 3% in France thought things were getting better. These are some of the luckiest people in the world. And here is the kicker: they are wrong!