In NYT, Steven Pinker Says Progress Goes On
American life is not a hellscape of carnage and decline.
This election season has been accompanied by a swirl of negativity about the state of the nation. Depending on who you ask, the United States is in long-term decline, on the road to dictatorship, or careening toward environmental and social catastrophe.
Our board member Steven Pinker has written a much-needed counter to these narratives for the New York Times:
“When we take an objective look at how the country is doing and which way it has been going, we see that American life is not a hellscape of carnage and decline. What stands out is a resilient democracy that tends to recover from setbacks and make halting progress.”
Superabundance now available in Polish
Superabundance, our editor Marian Tupy’s book exploring the relationship between population growth and resource abundance, was recently translated into Polish.
The Polish edition also includes an introduction from Marek Tatała, President of the Foundation for Economic Freedom, which you can read on our website.
The United States is growing wealthier not only over time, but also relative to other advanced democracies.
In 1990, adjusted for purchasing power, GDP per person in the United States was 10 percent higher than in Western Europe. By 2023, that gap had grown to around 23 percent.