May 19, 2021

Steven Pinker: Things are Getting BETTER! (#148)

1 hour

Was 2020 really the "worst year ever," as some would have us believe? Or are things getting better? Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker has shown that poverty, pollution and other challenges are on the wane and we're doing better now in every one of a host of important metrics compared with 30 years ago. Yet progress isn't inevitable, and it doesn't mean everything gets better for all humans all the time, Pinker says. Instead, progress is problem-solving, and we should look at things like climate change, pandemics, and the threat of war as problems to be solved, not inevitable apocalypses in waiting. "We will never have a perfect world, and it would be dangerous to seek one," he says. "But there's no limit to the betterments we can attain if we continue to apply knowledge to enhance human flourishing."

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Topics Discussed:

How his thinking on liberalism has changed in light of recent events

Presumably it's still the antidote, but what nuances should we keep in mind

For example, free speech is sacrosanct, but with today's technology, "lies get halfway around the world before the truth can tie its laces."

The gatekeepers to the public square are increasingly concentrated.

Technology/social media exacerbate this issue

What should we do?

Advice to young adults

How to navigate these dynamics

Career considerations

His thoughts on capitalism, e.g., Coca Cola, MLB, Delta protesting Georgia; Dr. Seuss;

What about our current situation reconfirms his views? What has caused a rethink?

What does he believe that nobody else does?

What is he most hopeful about? Most concerned about?

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