![Are Things Getting Better or Worse?](/summary-img/34410-JK81BFLK.jpg?h=M&b=0)
Article
Are Things Getting Better or Worse?
Why assessing the state of the world is harder than it sounds.
The New Yorker,
2018
Read or listen offline
résumé audio créé automatiquement
1×
résumé audio créé automatiquement
Recommendation
For most of humanity, life is getting better: Statistics reveal improving conditions for most people around the world. At the same time however, pessimism is running rampant: Despite the facts, most people feel conditions are getting worse. In a wide-ranging essay for The New Yorker, writer Joshua Rothman explores this paradox. Drawing from the work of historians, philosophers, pollsters and scientists, he explains why the world isn’t as bad as people think – and how they could be wrong. getAbstract recommends Rothman’s investigation to anyone looking for rational reasons for optimism.
Take-Aways
About the Author
Joshua Rothman is The New Yorker’s archive editor and a frequent contributor to NewYorker.com, where he writes about books and ideas.
By the same author
Article
Learners who read this summary also read
Book
Book
Book
Comment on this summary or Démarrer une discussion