Johan Norberg is a Swedish author and historian of ideas. He’s a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and the author of Progress, In Defense of Global Capitalism, The Capitalist Manifesto and more recently Peak Human. His work explores the roots of prosperity, the case for open societies, and why freedom leads to human flourishing, follow Johan on Twitter

We talk about what really drives progress, how innovation emerges, the false promises of degrowth, and why optimism is a moral stance. Topics are outlined in the timestamps below.

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Timestamps

00:00 – Intro

02:31 – Why trade and openness drive innovation

05:03 – The mindset of responsibility and agency

07:36 – Capitalism, sustainability, and environmental progress

10:10 – Why human flourishing isn’t guaranteed

12:42 – How human creativity builds prosperity

15:17 – What profit really means in free markets

17:51 – Risk-taking and the power of entrepreneurship

20:27 – The decline of global inequality

23:03 – Can markets handle externalities fairly?

25:41 – Why regulation doesn’t mean anti-market

28:15 – Cultural mixing and progress through diversity

30:54 – Embracing uncertainty instead of fearing it

33:20 – Against utopia: why hope must stay grounded

35:59 – Degrowth and the real moral risks of stopping progress

38:36 – Lockdowns, poverty, and policy trade-offs

41:10 – The future of work, leisure, and meaning

43:45 – Green growth and energy optimism

46:12 – Literature, imagination, and moral insight

48:50 – Final reflections on freedom and fallibility

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