@humanprogress (Twitter)

In 1957, the filthy & stinking [Thames] river was declared biologically dead. Today, it is in excellent health with 125...species of fish. In 2008, the short-snouted seahorse, which is extremely sensitive to pollution, was back in the Thames - @johanknorberg https://buff.ly/2DflFf6

Enlightenment values are under assault from the far Left and far Right. Both extremes believe our world's been corrupted beyond repair. They want to blow it up and start anew. “What,” they ask, “do you have to lose?” A lot, actually, should be our response

Worried about income inequality? Consider the top 400 U.S. income-earners. Between 1992 and 2013, 72 percent of the top 400 retained that title for no more than a year. Over 97 percent retained it for no more than a decade.

“Almost nine in ten Chinese lived in extreme poverty in 1981. Only one in ten do today.” - @johanknorberg https://buff.ly/2GboSzF

Chile opted for a market economy, while Venezuela embraced socialism. What happened next?

Enlightenment values are under assault from the far Left and far Right. Both extremes believe our world's been corrupted beyond repair. They want to blow it up and start anew. “What,” they ask, “do you have to lose?” A lot, actually, should be our response

"The average Mexican lives longer now than the average Briton did in 1955. The average Botswanan earns more than the average Finn did in 1955. Infant mortality is lower today in Nepal than it was in Italy in 1951" - @mattwridley https://buff.ly/2EKpQkH

Repeated transactions encourage trust among trading parties - a moral by-product of competitive markets that we should spend more time talking about.

"The message from history is obvious; free trade causes mutual prosperity, protectionism causes poverty." - @mattwridley https://buff.ly/2opPXq8

"The rich got richer, but the poor have done even better..." - Matt Ridley. Explore data on poverty's decline: https://buff.ly/2opC9MB