Art Carden wrote a great article this morning about the tremendous economic progress we have made over the past two centuries. It is “Conceived in freedom or Originated in sin? Exploitation and Modern Prosperity,” EcolibNovember 4, 2024.
One fragment:
We are RICH: Rich, Interconnected, CivilizedAnd Healthy. What does this mean?
First of all, I refer to those of us who are fortunate enough to have won the geographical and historical lottery and who find ourselves in European countries or their offshoots such as the United States and Canada. If you’re reading this, chances are you’re among the richest 5% of people on Earth and the richest 1% of people who have ever lived.
I have often pointed out in conversations that the most valuable asset that many Americans have, even if they possess few tangible assets, is their American citizenship.
Art also writes:
The leading causes of death today are age-related and lifestyle diseases such as cancer, not pathogens or warfare. More people die from cancer because more people live long enough to get cancer.
That reminded me of what the late Aaron Wildavsky and his son Adam Wildavsky wrote in “Risk and Safety” in David R. Henderson, ed., The concise encyclopedia of economics:
On the other side of the ledger, cancer deaths continue to rise, although their increase has slowed, and deaths from serious cardiovascular disease remain high.Why these differences? Cancer is largely a disease of old age. When people died at about half their current life expectancy, they died before they had a chance, if you can call it that, of getting cancer.
Note: The photo above is by Aaron Wildavsky.