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A year before the Declaration of Independence, American GDP per person stood at $1,883. By the time Barack Obama left office, U.S. GDP per person stood at $53,015 – a 27 fold increase. And today, abundance is no longer restricted to the West...

Ever since the Enlightenment and the invention of Science, humanity has managed to create a tiny bit more than we’ve destroyed each year. That few percent positive difference is compounded over decades in to what we might call civilization.

Scientists discovered a mineral deposit with 780 years’ worth of yttrium, 620 years’ worth of europium, 420 years’ worth of terbium and 730 years’ worth of dysprosium. It “has the potential to supply these materials on a semi-infinite basis to the world.”

Fewer than 12% of the Fortune 500 companies included in 1955 were still on the list 62 years later in 2017, and 88% of the companies from 1955 have either gone bankrupt, merged with another firm, or have fallen from the top Fortune 500 companies.

In 1978, when China started to reform its failing communist economy, its GDP per person stood at $1,583 (French levels in the early 1830s). By 2016, it rose to $12,320 (the French level in 1964). China grew as much in 38 years, as France did in 130 years.

"Horrified by the recent gun violence? The murder rate back then [1973] was twice as high as today." - Sumner

Over the last 200 years, the world has experienced previously unimaginable improvements. Rapid economic growth started in Europe & America, but today some of the world’s fastest growing countries can be found in Asia & Africa - lifting billions from poverty.

When it comes to nutrition, life expectancy, child mortality rates and education, progress is being made throughout the world. That's especially true of poor countries. In sub-Saharan Africa, the quality-of-life gap with the rest of the world is narrowing

Not only is foreign aid ineffective compared to market-led development, but aid programs often ignore the need for institutional reform. Examples of dictators who received aid money include Idi Amin, Mengistu Haile Mariam, Mobutu Sese Seko & even Pol Pot

While Venezuela’s mismanagement has killed more infants than a full-blown war in Syria, Chile’s success story shows us that by implementing the right policies, humanity can make progress and better protect the youngest, most vulnerable members of society.