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We may be living in the best of times.  I know for some it may not always feel that way.  Over the course of the last couple of weeks I’ve encountered several writers who claim the previous decade has been the best in human history.  If you watch cable news 24/7 it may not always feel that way but there is overwhelming evidence of progress.

Much of the planet enjoys food abundance and our new gadgets not only save time but often money.

Worldwide poverty rates have plummeted.  Diseases once considered scourges are now in many cases easily treated and recovery rates are vastly improved.  Much of the planet enjoys food abundance and our new gadgets not only save time but often money.

Check out this link from the opinion page of the Washington Times.  The writer, Richard W. Rahn, is a member of the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington (when I was a young reporter, even the liberal Mario Cuomo used to cite for me facts from Cato research).  Rahn argues the apps on

He provides a chart and compares the prices of commodities from 50 years ago with what we pay today.  In real dollar terms, even gasoline is cheaper.  Some products once considered luxuries (air travel) now are a fraction of the cost from 1970.

None of this means we can rest and consider we’ve reached the end of history.  There are still threats to our well-being and some come from the very same technology promising great benefits.  You can see an ominous warning by clicking here.  Technology, in the wrong hands, could lead to enslavement.

I don’t agree with much coming out of California, although.  This morning I heard the state’s government is cracking down on the collection of individual data by corporate and social media interests.  In most cases, no harm is intended by the collection but if the day ever comes when the Republic were to fall, what takes its place may not be benign.

We keep our improving lives and our liberties through vigilance.  In the words of Charles Dickens, “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…

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