Human Progress in 9 Charts
Risk & Progress| A hub for essays that explore risk, human progress, and your potential. My mission is to educate, inspire, and invest in concepts that promote a better future. Subscriptions are free, paid subscribers gain access to the full archive, including the Pathways of Progress and Realize essay series.
With all the negativity of the media and popular culture, it can be very difficult to accept that we are indeed living in the best time in human history. Even the very suggestion often triggers immediate scorn and disbelief, a reflex that we will examine soon. To truly see and understand the depth and breadth of human progress in these past few centuries, we best turn to charts, graphics, and data. Only with our eyes can we visualize the whirlwind of positive change that has enabled unparalleled human prosperity and personal opportunity.
Education
We begin this examination with literacy, as it is one of the key metrics of human progress and individual potential. The ability to read and write unlocks the capability of learning from others through books and written works and the accelerated dispersion of knowledge. From the chart below, we can see that global literacy soared over the last two centuries, inverting the proportion of…
