Silly Little Country

Matt Ridley Honors another Rational Optimist

In a very nice post.

When I joined The Economist in 1949 it seemed unlikely that the world would last long. But here we stand, 40 memory-sodden years on, and what have we done? What we have done - largely because the poorest two-thirds of people are living much longer - is approximately to octuple real gross world product. During the brief civilian working lives of us returning soldiers from the second world war, we have added seven times as much to the world's producing power as was added during all the previous millennia of homo sapien's existence. That may help to explain why some of us sound and write rather tired. It does not explain why anybody in the next generation, to whom we gladly vacate our posts, can dare to sound pessimistic.

Amen. You young folks - get out there and keep making the species look pretty good! Most of you in my family's next generation seem to be on the way!

posted by Alan Adamson @ 5:51 PM