Key Facts or Insights from "The Rational Optimist - How Prosperity Evolves"
- Human prosperity has increased over time primarily due to trade and specialization.
- Barter was the precursor to money and served as the catalyst for specialization.
- Optimism is rational and backed by historical trends, despite prevalent pessimistic narratives.
- Intellectual property rights can sometimes hinder rather than help innovation.
- Innovation is a collective, cumulative process, often unpredictable and unplanned.
- Top-down approaches to solving global problems are often less effective than bottom-up, market-based solutions.
- Despite the challenges and crises we face, the future for humanity is likely to be better...