Over the past two centuries, humanity has experienced unprecedented progress. Between 1820 and 2020, extreme poverty (defined as living on less than $1.90 per person per day) declined by over 90%. Over the same period, average global life expectancy more than doubled, and illiteracy declined by over 86%.
Despite this immense progress, most of us remain sceptical about humanity’s ability to overcome the most pressing problems of the day. Consider the 2020 survey by the global public opinion companion YouGov that asked Brits, “Generally speaking, do you think the world is becoming a better or worse place, or is it staying much the same?” A whopping seventy per cent of respondents thought the world was becoming a worse place to live. 18% thought it was staying the same, and a measly four percent thought it was getting better.
To combat the ingratitude that permeates our intellectual climate, media outlets, and, subsequently, society, it is useful to remind ourselves of the underlying cause of modern progress: human innovation. The wealth and health of the modern world rests on the shoulders of dozens of relatively unknown innovators whose work has saved millions, if not billions, of lives. Yet, as most people are unaware of the names, let alone the accomplishments of these pioneers, it is unsurprising we are sceptical about our species' ability to forge a more prosperous future.
In my forthcoming book Heroes of Progress: 65 People Who Change the World, I hope to push back against the tide of ingratitude, pessimism, and fatalism that has engulfed large swathes of society.
As Harvard University psychologist Steven Pinker noted in the foreword to the book, “The valorisation of people who conquer disease and poverty was once commonplace,” yet despite substantial progress and an abundance of heroic tales, “we appear to now live in a world where scepticism about humanity’s ability to combat the most pressing problems of the day reigns supreme.”
Heroes of Progress features an array of individuals who have saved or improved millions of lives. By exploring the stories of many of the most influential individuals who have ever lived, I hope this book will cause the reader to develop a sense of gratitude for what has come before and inspiration as to the endless capacity of free individuals to transform the world for the better.
Whether it’s agronomists whose hybrid crops saved billions of lives, intellectuals who changed public policy and removed barriers to human flourishing, businesspeople whose inventions raised living standards and revolutionized our societies, or scientists whose medical breakthroughs eliminated diseases and ended pandemics, if it weren’t for the actions of past heroes and the generally open political and economic environments in which they worked, we’d all be far poorer, sicker, hungrier, ignorant, and less free. Considering the remarkable impact of history’s pioneers in changing the world for the better, perhaps it’s time to learn their story.
