'Enlightenment Now' says human progress is real, remarkable, and yet often unacknowledged
If the boy who cried wolf were around today and given to warning us that the world is on the verge of annihilation, he wouldn’t have to worry about being ignored, however many times the alarm turns out to be false. Pessimism regarding the fate of the planet and its inhabitants is all the rage. Indeed, should you make known a belief that things are tending in the right direction, and that those that aren’t can be gotten back on track, you’re likely to suffer public ridicule and worse.
Don’t despair, though, because vindication has arrived in the form of Steven Pinker’s latest book. Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress is remarkable, heart-warming, and long overdue.
Of course, the author, a
