The Bourgeois Virtues

Why life is 255 times better now than in 1800

4 Comments / Economics, Fruits of the Enlightenment, Humor / Stephen Hicks

Reprising this from when I read Deirdre McCloskey’s fascinating, intriguing, and wonderfully learned The Bourgeois Virtues: Ethics for an Age of Commerce (University of Chicago Press, 2006). Early on McCloskey cites three statistics about progress between 1800 and now: Wealth: “The amount of goods and services produced and consumed by the average person on the […]

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Capitalism versus the good old days

3 Comments / Economics, Fruits of the Enlightenment, Literature / Stephen Hicks

Some wise words from Deirdre McCloskey, for those who fear that things were healthier in the good old days and that we are degrading our environment and living less authentic lives: “‘Ah, but the environment was better.’ Briefly for now, no. Consider that you may be mistaken. Air quality during the past fifty years has

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