All the gains we have made have been the result of hard work. He also makes the point that there is no place for complacency. Because all these observations are supported by hard statistics, it is very easy to be convinced. are all getting better over time, and in the process he also explains why it is that we are often not aware, or fail to fully notice, these encouraging trends. Looking at a whole screed of indices of human well-being and progress, Pinker shows us that on a global scale things have moved and are still moving in a very positive direction: Life expectancy, child mortality, poverty, war, road safety, human rights, civil rights, literacy etc etc. Of course, if you want to check them out later, there is an accompanying pdf. Now, it’s awkward to look at graphs when you are out in the woods on your bike, but fortunately this isn’t necessary, because they are all well-described in the audio narrative and are pretty straightforward. Basically, for each different aspect of World life that he examines, he provides evidence of progress by using graphs to show that things have become massively better over time. Like other feel-good books I’ve read & reviewed (‘The Rational Optimist’,’ Abundance’, and Pinker’s own ‘The Better Angels of our Nature’), this book tries to convince the listener that things aren’t really as bad as they seem – and it succeeds. Stephen Pinker’s latest book is an optimistic look at the state of the World today. What is happening? How did things get so bad? They didn’t. We have global warming, overpopulation, pollution.
The British were so disillusioned that they voted for Brexit. Americans were so disenchanted with this state of decline that they elected Donald Trump. This is the case for an Enlightenment newly recharged for the 21st century. But the way to deal with them is not to sink into despair or try to lurch back to a mythical idyllic past it's to treat them as problems we can solve, as we have solved other problems in the past. The challenges we face today are formidable. These are the values of the Enlightenment: of reason, science, humanism and progress. Such progress is no accident: it's the gift of a coherent value system that many of us embrace without even realising it. Yet, as Steven Pinker shows, if you follow the trendlines, you discover that our lives have become longer, healthier, safer and more prosperous - not just in the West but worldwide. Is modernity really failing? Or have we failed to appreciate progress and the ideals that make it possible? If you follow the headlines, the world in the 21st century appears to be sinking into chaos, hatred and irrationality. Penguin presents the audiobook edition of Enlightenment Now by Steven Pinker, read by Arthur Morey.
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