SeekerBlog

“The Progress Paradox is a book you must read. It tells the truth about how the United States really is today.” Eric Schmidt, CEO, Google

Today I listened to Russ Roberts interview Gregg Easterbrook on Econtalk.org — which really made me smile. Even though we do not watch TV or listen to radio, Easterbook and Roberts reviewed the true history, which made me realize that Dorothy and I are nevertheless infected by the relentless negativism of the Western media. It is like air pollution in the LA basin…

Near the end of the conversation Russ Roberts related the results of a poll that he gives to classes, seminars – every opportunity he gets. He asks “how much have our lives improved in the past 100 years”. The average/typical answer is “50 percent”, while 10% of the respondents say “life is worse today”. The correct answer is between 7 and 30 TIMES the quality of life 100 years ago. These are presumably educated responders, not a “man on the street” poll.

“The Progress Paradox” deserves more attention here — hopefully that will come. Right now my excuse is that we are really pressed for time. Meanwhile, enjoy David Wessel’s review for the Washington Monthly:

Gregg Easterbrook is frustrated. He is certain that life is getting better for Americans and many others. He knows that we are living better than our grandparents did, and better than our great-grandparents imagined. (He’s right.) He believes, and sought to demonstrate in his 1995 book, A Moment on Earth, that environmentalists have succeeded and that the world is getting cleaner, though they won’t admit it. (The green crowd wasn’t swayed.)

But people aren’t convinced. Why aren’t we happier, he wonders? Why, even before September 11, did so many Americans tell pollsters that the country was going downhill? Why is depression an increasingly common affliction? What are we so stressed out about? In his sixth book, Easterbrook sets out to answer a question posed by sociologist Alan Wolfe: “Why do capitalism and liberal democracy, both of which justify themselves on the grounds that they produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number, leave so much dissatisfaction in their wake?”

It is a very good question. Easterbrook–who writes for The New Republic, The Atlantic Monthly, and this magazine, among others–wanders through Western philosophy and psychology (having written an earlier book on faith) seeking an answer. Ultimately, he doesn’t find a satisfying one.

…The optimistic journalist is rarely held in high regard by his or her peers, (I know: I wrote a book with a colleague in 1998 that argued that the American middle class would do better over the next 20 years than it did over the past 20 years.) Those who predict calamity get more attention and often more respect. I suspect that’s always been true. Easterbrook’s goals here are, first, to persuade the reader that his optimism is justified and, second, to explain why people don’t seem to accept such a view. On the first, he provides plenty of ammunition to those who already agree with him but, I fear, not enough convincing argument or criticism of competing views to persuade any reader who doesn’t already see the world the way he does. On the second, the reader joins him on an often interesting intellectual quest, but the goal, in the end, proves elusive.

That said, I recommend you consider your local library version rather than clicking on Buy at Amazon. The first 30% of the book is great — organizing the statistics of true history. Based on reviews I’ve scanned, the remaining 70% which focuses on the “unhappiness” side of the paradox may not be so enlightening.