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It's Getting Better All the Time: 100 Greatest Trends of the Last 100 years
There has been more material progress in the United States in the 20th Century than in the entire world in all previous centuries combined.
294 pages, Paperback
First published June 22, 1905
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About the author
Stephen Moore
139 books34 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Stephen Moore is an American economist who advocates free-market policies and limited government. He has a B.A. from the University of Illinois and an M.A. from George Mason University. Moore is the founder of two political advocacy groups: the Club for Growth and the Free Enterprise Fund.
Stephen Moore is an American economist who advocates free-market policies and limited government. He has a B.A. from the University of Illinois and an M.A. from George Mason University. Moore is the founder of two political advocacy groups: the Club for Growth and the Free Enterprise Fund.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 26, 2012
I admit, I fell prey to the population scare of the 60's, Paul Ehrlich's Population Bomb etc. I assumed that all the scare tactics were based on facts. Actually, the population scare and just about every other thing we stayed up nights worrying about (deforestation, destroying the environment, lose of species, etc.)were all based on theories and conjecture, not looking at the actual facts. Stephen Moore has summed up the life work of Julian Simon in this wonderfully hopeful book. He concludes that the most valuable resource in the world are human beings with their creativity and ability to problem solve, something never taken into account by all the doomsayers. And the best place for humans to employ their creativity is in a free market economy. Check out this book. It will blow your mind and you will sleep better at night.
December 13, 2014
The title says it all. The authors, Stephen Moore and Julian Simon, discuss 100 trends in 20th century America that give one reason to be optimistic. These trends are grouped into the following areas: health, nutrition, wealth, poverty, children's issues, labor, leisure, housing, transportation & communications, innovation, information technology, education, safety, environmental protection, natural resources, socio-cultural indicators, sports, women's issues, racial issues, and freedom & democracy.
One of the co-authors, Julian Simon, died before publication of this book, but is famous for a bet that he made with Paul Ehrlich. The bet was that any five commodities of Ehrlich's choosing would decline in price over the subsequent decade. Ehrlich, author of The Population Bomb, was a doomsayer, and believed the five commodities and most others would become more expensive. Simon won the bet. All five commodities became cheaper, though some have pointed out that if they had gone double or nothing over another decade the tables would have turned.
The authors attribute the world's 20th century success to three technologies: electricity, vaccines/medicines, and the microchip. In answer to the question of why the United States did particularly well, the authors point to freedom as the answer. Neither of these hypotheses are systematically evaluated in this work; they're just presented with anecdotal support.
This book makes some excellent points. People have a tendency towards pessimism, hence all the dystopian, zombie, nuclear holocaust literature. There's also a common fallacy that imagines that there was once a golden age in the past that is never to be surpassed. One may find it hard to believe that it's getting better all the time, but one can't argue with the numbers.
The previous paragraph notwithstanding, there's room for criticism. While one can't argue with the numbers, in some cases one might find oneself asking whether they are the right numbers or whether they tell the whole story. For example, the section on disease shows a strong decline across a range of diseases. However, it doesn't cover any of the many chronic disease that disproportionately affect wealthy countries such as diabetes and crohn's disease.
It would be interesting to see an update to the study. For example, GDP growth is shown to be higher on average among the freest nations. However, with countries like China and Vietnam rocketing upward in GDP in recent years,it would be interesting to see if this trend remains.
Even though this book is 13 years old, I'd still recommend it. Given all the doom and gloom as of late, it might be a particularly good time to pick it up.
One of the co-authors, Julian Simon, died before publication of this book, but is famous for a bet that he made with Paul Ehrlich. The bet was that any five commodities of Ehrlich's choosing would decline in price over the subsequent decade. Ehrlich, author of The Population Bomb, was a doomsayer, and believed the five commodities and most others would become more expensive. Simon won the bet. All five commodities became cheaper, though some have pointed out that if they had gone double or nothing over another decade the tables would have turned.
The authors attribute the world's 20th century success to three technologies: electricity, vaccines/medicines, and the microchip. In answer to the question of why the United States did particularly well, the authors point to freedom as the answer. Neither of these hypotheses are systematically evaluated in this work; they're just presented with anecdotal support.
This book makes some excellent points. People have a tendency towards pessimism, hence all the dystopian, zombie, nuclear holocaust literature. There's also a common fallacy that imagines that there was once a golden age in the past that is never to be surpassed. One may find it hard to believe that it's getting better all the time, but one can't argue with the numbers.
The previous paragraph notwithstanding, there's room for criticism. While one can't argue with the numbers, in some cases one might find oneself asking whether they are the right numbers or whether they tell the whole story. For example, the section on disease shows a strong decline across a range of diseases. However, it doesn't cover any of the many chronic disease that disproportionately affect wealthy countries such as diabetes and crohn's disease.
It would be interesting to see an update to the study. For example, GDP growth is shown to be higher on average among the freest nations. However, with countries like China and Vietnam rocketing upward in GDP in recent years,it would be interesting to see if this trend remains.
Even though this book is 13 years old, I'd still recommend it. Given all the doom and gloom as of late, it might be a particularly good time to pick it up.
January 26, 2012
This is interesting read some thirteen years after it was published. It covers a range of subjects, from racism to gender rights to global warming and terrorism and education, and other things that the authors deemed were getting 'better'. Now, I agree that issues like racism, women's rights and equal rights are definitely better than they were some hundred, hundred and fifty years ago. People still discriminate, sure, but it's certainly frowned upon. But I can't help but feel that in terms of wars and global warming, we're still fighting an uphill battle.
I also kept singing The Beatles' 'It's Getting Better All The Time', and I can't hate too much because of that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP4apO...
I also kept singing The Beatles' 'It's Getting Better All The Time', and I can't hate too much because of that: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gP4apO...
May 18, 2013
One hundred pages of charts should be boring, but this thorough survey of modern trends is absolutely inspiring. The analysis frequently shows that the doom-and-gloom we hear in the news is based on a relatively short time horizon. For example, the U.S. has not been losing forest acreage. To the contrary, forested land has been growing throughout the last century and the growth has been steadily accelerating. They show similar improvements in range of economic and cultural indicators that demonstrate our quality of life has been improving by orders of magnitude.
June 28, 2010
Even though it is strictly a secular book, it takes a very post-millennial tone. It really is getting better all the time, and this book helps us see why. No, it isn't a linear progression, but you have to admit we are all better off today than folks were when they were fighting the plague, living under feudalism, walking through horse dung, and breathing coal soot 24/7. This is a good book that shows us the progress of humans through the last 100 years.
April 26, 2014
A great message about how life is improving compared to 50 or 100 years ago.
Better health. Better nutrition. Better transportation. Better education. Better environmental protection.
The 21st century poor are wealthier and lead better lives than the 20th century poor.
Less racism. Less sexism. Less wars. Less crime.
Life is better for all Americans today than it was a century ago. It's getting better all the time.
Better health. Better nutrition. Better transportation. Better education. Better environmental protection.
The 21st century poor are wealthier and lead better lives than the 20th century poor.
Less racism. Less sexism. Less wars. Less crime.
Life is better for all Americans today than it was a century ago. It's getting better all the time.
September 14, 2009
This is a classical liberal's view of progress. If you are an optimist about progress there won't be a lot of new information here. If you are a pessimist, you probably need to read this. It is a fast and easy read.
September 9, 2012
If The First Measured Century is optimistic, this book is practically wearing rose-colored glasses. Only to be expected given the title, I guess. I didn't finish it; very similar to ...Century.
August 9, 2009
This book helped me understand why libertarian economists tend to be so optimistic. Data set after data set made me pause in thankful wonder at the age in which we live.
January 1, 2013
A good and constant reminder that we should stop idealizing the past.
December 28, 2018
Great News
Tired of bad news and fake news? Check out this terrific overview of great news. It’s a little outdated but well worth the time, especially since it’s a quick read
Tired of bad news and fake news? Check out this terrific overview of great news. It’s a little outdated but well worth the time, especially since it’s a quick read
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews