poor countries. See developing countries/world
Popper, Karl, 205, 393, 486n21
population
control measures, 74
demographic transition, 125, 135–6, 436
education and decline of, 238
explosion of, 56, 73–4, 125–6, 125
fertility of religious believers, 436, 489n70
fertility rates as decreasing, 125–6
growth of, 125
Muslim, 126, 326
and Peak Stuff, 135–6
populism, 29, 333–4
age rolloff in support for, 341–2, 342
backlash against equal rights, 219, 221, 225
cultural backlash as primary issue in, 340, 342
dystopian rhetoric and, 343–4
economics and, 339, 340, 342
education and, 339, 340
and electoral irregularities, repair of, 342–3
in Europe, 334, 338–9, 341–2, 342, 438, 451
fascism and, 448, 491n118
institutional limits on power of, 337–8
intellectuals and, 343–4
vs. international community, 163, 337–8
left- and right-wing varieties, 334
media and, 343–4
minority rights, disrespect for, 333, 340
Peak Populism, 451
and “political correctness,” 219
progress as rejected by, 334, 363–4
racism and, 339–40
repudiation of, 338–9
strongman emergence as factor in, 340–41, 343
and terrorism, fear of, 338, 339
theoconservatism and, 448–9
voter characteristics and, 339–40
voter turnout and, 343, 438
See also Trump, Donald
Porter, Roy, 84
Portugal, 200, 341, 481n32
positivism, 388. See also reductionism; scientism
postcolonial governments
civil war and intercommunal violence of, 164
and democracies, rise of, 200, 201
famine exacerbated by policies of, 78
postmodernism, 351
hatred of science, 397
and malaise of the humanities, 406
Nietzsche as influence on, 446
relativism, 406
Poststructuralism, 446
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), 281, 282
“post-truth era,” 375
Potomac River, 130
Pound, Ezra, 447
poverty, 79–96
clothing and, 80, 117, 118
conditions of, 79–80, 92–4
and consumption, 116–18, 116
as default state of humankind, 25, 79
definition of, 79
and disposable income, 115–16, 116
economic inequality confused with, 98–9
energy requirements to escape, 141
escape from, 24, 54, 85, 364, 459–60nn16,18,20
escape from, factors contributing to, 90–96, 234
homelessness, 116
pollution and, 130–31, 463n28
retirement and alleviation of, 250–51, 250
social spending to alleviate, 107–110, 115–16
workhouses, 79, 250–51
See also developing countries/world; economic inequality; wealth
—EXTREME POVERTY, 87
number of people living in, 88–9, 88
per capita income distribution and, 86–7, 86
percentage of world living in, 87–8, 87
United Nations’ goal for reducing, 89, 460n28
power-law distribution, 46, 162, 290, 292–3
Prados de la Escosura, Leandro, 110, 245, 473n45
prediction, 46, 366–71
Availability heuristic and, 370
Bayesian reasoning and, 369–70
common-sense awareness of, 366
ideology driven as least successful, 368, 371
media and intellectuals unaccountable for, 366–7
prophecy distinguished from, 46
superforecasters, 368–71, 380, 393, 404
wisdom of crowds and, 370
President’s Council on Bioethics, 60
Preston Curve, 95
probabilities
of imaginable events, inaccurate estimates, 292
of nuclear war, 312–13
of rare events, 46, 162, 290, 292–3
See also Availability heuristic; prediction
productivity, 328
delay in effects of technological change, 330
factors affecting slowdown of, 329
technological sophistication and, 328
progress
as apparent historical force, 109, 177–8, 190, 211–13, 215, 220–21
vs. Authoritarian High Modernism, 11–12
as cumulative, 326–7
definition of, 11, 51–2, 55, 410
vs. dialectics and other mystical forces, arcs, and struggles, 11, 109, 326, 395, 400
general factor (quantitative), 245–6, 246, 473n45, 483n42
global shaming campaigns and, 222, 443
Human Development Index, 245–6, 246, 473n45, 483n42
institutions as hope for, 12
“price of,” 11–12, 185–6
Romantic vs. Enlightenment versions, 11, 109, 326, 395, 400
summary of, 322–6
threats to, 328–41. See also economic stagnation; populism
unbundling negative features from, 94
United Nations Millennium Development Goals for, 52, 89, 239–40, 457n31, 459–60n18
Protestant countries, emancipative values in, 227
Protestant ethic, 85
psychology
clinical. See anxiety; depression; mental health and illness; psychotherapy; suicide
cognitive, 351, 353, 378, 407
Enlightenment precursors, 8–9, 10, 353, 392
evolutionary, 17, 25–8, 353–5, 415, 426, 448, 450
social, 100, 373, 407
See also cognitive biases
psychotherapy
cognitive behavior therapy, 282
Feedback-Informed Treatment, 380
and media focus on negative news, 286–7
public goods game. See Tragedy of the Commons
public health
bioterror and international networks, 301
Ebola control, 307
Nazi Holocaust invoking, 399
revolution of, 64, 83
See also vaccines
“Publius Decius Mus” (Michael Anton), 448, 449
Pulitzer Prize, 52
purpose, absence of in nature, 8, 24, 394–5, 434–5
“spirituality” and, 434
Putin, Vladimir, 159, 201, 205, 335, 336
Putnam, Robert, 274, 432
Pynchon, Thomas, 456n1
Pythagoras, 23
Quakers (Society of Friends), 162, 412
quality of life, 247–61
and diet, diversification of, 258–9
entertainment and culture, diversity of, 260–61
fundamental capabilities, 248, 264–5, 413
and GDP, 95
leisure time and family life, 255–6, 256
light, affordability of, 253–4, 253–4
necessities, cost of, 254–5, 254
plane travel, affordability of, 257–8, 258
poverty, alleviation of, 251, 473–4n8
secularization and, 438–9, 490n87
time required to stay alive, 248–52, 252, 255
travel/tourism, 258–9, 259
See also happiness; well-being, subjective
quantitative mindset. See objective measurement
quantum mechanics, 423, 424, 425, 427
Quarantelli, Enrico, 305
Quayle, Dan, 255, 374–5
Qutb, Sayyid, 441
Rabi, Isidor, 308
Rabinowitch, Eugene, 311
racism, 214–15
and academia’s left-wing tilt, 373–4
of ancient Greeks toward Africans, 397
global progress in, 222
Internet searches as index of, 217–19, 218, 339–40, 471n13
and interracial marriage, 376
of medieval Muslims toward Africans, 397
police shootings of African Americans, 215–16, 471n6
public opinion in the U.S., 216–17, 216, 471n8
of Romans toward Britons, 397
“scientific racism” misdescribed, 397–8, 486n32
Trump’s election and, 339–40
Radelet, Steven, 59, 90, 91, 93, 459n16
radioactive fallout, 133–4, 315
Radner, Gilda, 266
Railton, Peter, 429
Raitt, Bonnie, 147
Ramdas, Kavita, 94
Ramon, Gaston, 64
rampage shootings, 191, 193–6
categorization as terrorism, 192, 193–4
copycat killings, 193–4
media response, recommendations for, 198
motives of killers, 196, 216
Rand, Ayn, 446
Randomistas, 380–81
rare events, probability of, 46, 162, 290, 292–3
Rawcliffe, Carol, 181
Rawls, John, 88, 412
Rayburn, Sam, 16
Raza, Raheel, 443
Reagan, Ronald, 110, 115, 316, 374–5
real estate, social status, and dematerialization, 135
reason, 8, 351–84
Cartesian argument, 8, 351–2, 413, 482n4
and cosmopolitanism, 11
depoliticizing, 381–3
evolutionary roots in hunter-gatherers, 353–4
fact-checking in media, 375–6
and human irrationality, 8–9, 351, 353, 358, 375, 407, 482n6
increase of, despite contrary sense, 380–81
the meaning of life and, 3–4
vs. politicization, 381–4
and religion, 8, 30, 388, 389, 393–5
subjectivity and, 351–2, 390
See also cognition; cognitive biases
reductionism, 388, 392–3
Reed, Lou, 284
Rees, Martin, 290–91, 301, 423
reforestation, 76, 130, 134, 150, 459n25
refrigeration, 75, 82, 251, 252
refugees/displaced persons, 160, 338, 466n12
relationships. See family life; social support vs. isolation
relativism
incoherence of, 351–2
morality and, 429–30
Nietzsche as inspiring, 445, 446
postmodernism and, 406
of religion, 429, 430
religion, 8, 30, 31–2, 420–43
and capitalism, development of, 84, 85
and China, freedoms in, 204
commerce as ameliorating hatreds, 84
Cornwall Declaration on environment, 287
as counter-Enlightenment, 30, 31–2
decline of. See secularization
development of (Axial Age), 23
doomsday prophecies by, 294
equal rights for religious minorities, 222
freedom of, utilitarianism and, 417
humanism, clashes with, 30, 432–3
humanism, compatibility with, 412, 431–2
Inquisition, 442
and morality. See Euthyphro (Plato); morality: basis of; theism and theistic morality
positive contributions to community, 431–2
revival of, 435, 436, 438
science encroaching on, 388, 391, 394–5, 422–3
separation of church and state, 418, 441
spirituality, 433–5
summum bonum, rethinking of, 84
theodicy (rationalization for suffering), 39, 423
See also God; soul, immaterial; specific religions
Republican Party
attempts to repeal Obamacare, 109
and climate change, 357
democratic norms undermined by, 374
electoral floor of support for, 338
increased partisanship of, 371–2
innumeracy of, on polarized topics, 361
journalists in, 484n54
theoconservatism and, 448–9
war on science of, 387–8
See also political ideologies of left and right; populism
Rhodes, Richard, 313
Richardson, Samuel, 284
Richards, Robert, 398
Ridley, Matt, 464n45
Riesman, David, 274
Right Revolutions, 43
Rijpma, Auke, 245
rinderpest (cattle plague), 65
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, homicide rates in, 172
rivers. See waterways
Rizvi, Ali, 443
roads and highways, 168–9, 178
Robinson, John, 255
Rock, Chris, 69, 374
Rockwell, Norman, 256
Romania, 341
romantic heroism, 33, 419–20, 443–51
disdain for the common person, 444–5, 446, 447
fascist movements inspired by, 445, 448
intellectuals and artists as fans, 445, 446–7, 452
and nationalism, 165–6, 445, 447, 448, 449–51
rejection of Enlightenment, 33, 444–5
and relativism, 445, 446
sexism of, 444
and totalitarian dictators, 445, 446–7, 491n118
Trumpism as influenced by, 448–50, 491n118
and will to power, 33, 296, 444, 445
See also Nietzsche, Friedrich
Romanticism, 11, 30, 33
counter-Enlightenment, 30, 351
environmental movement and, 32, 121, 122
and factory work, 92
heroic struggle as the greatest good, 30, 33, 448
progress, version of, 11. See also progress: vs. dialectics and other mystical forces, arcs, and struggles
race theory of, 398, 400
violence as glorified in, 30, 33
See also environmental movement (traditional); romantic heroism
romantic militarism, 165–6, 445
romantic nationalism, 165, 447, 448, 449–51
Romantic poetry, 433
Roma people, 399
Rome, ancient. See classical Greece and Rome
Romer, Paul, 154–5
Roosevelt, Eleanor, 419
Roosevelt, Franklin D., 63
Roosevelt, Theodore, 400
Rosenberg, Nathan, 79
Rosenberg, Robin, 282
Rosenberg, Tina, 50
Rosenthal, Bernice Glatzer, 445
Roser, Max, 52, 53, 88–9
Rose, Stephen (economist), 114
Rose, Steven (neuroscientist), 447
Rosling, Hans, 52, 53, 74, 251–2, 345
Rosling, Ola, 86
Ross, Lee, 359–60
Rotblat, Joseph, 308
Roth, Philip, 284
Roth, Randolph, 174
Rothschild, Nathan Meyer, 62
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques, 10, 30, 230
Rowling, J. K., 99, 100, 118
Ruddiman, William, 12
3
rule of law
democracy as dependent on, 335–6
establishment of, in early modern Europe, 43
integrity of, and emancipative values, 228
violent crime reductions and, 43, 168–70, 174
Rushdie, Salman, 443
Ruskin, John, 165
Russell, Bertrand, 421, 445
Russell, Stuart, 300, 477n20
Russia
as autocracy, 201, 203, 205, 335
civil war, 78
conflict with Georgia, 335
conflict with Ukraine, 158, 159, 335
Crimea annexation (2014), 164, 335
cyberattacks by, 335
democracy, undermining of, 335
famine in, 72
homicide rates in, 172, 174
homophobia in, 223
legitimacy of government, and crime wave, 174
nationalism of, 159
nuclear power and, 147, 150
nuclear weapons, 308, 315, 316–17, 318, 320–21
revolution, 78
secularization and, 436
Time of Troubles, 199, 484n77
Trump administration’s collusion with, 335
See also Cold War; nuclear war; Soviet Union
Rwanda, 69, 85, 86, 161–2
safety, 167–90, 323, 480n2
auto safety, 177–8, 190
fall prevention, 181–2
fire safety, 183
flood control, 188
gas and vapor, 183
government regulations, 177–8, 186, 187
natural disasters and, 187–9
opioid addiction, 184
Trump and, 335
in the workplace, 185–7, 187
See also accidental deaths; motor vehicles
Sagan, Carl, 308, 310
Sahel, 73
Said, Edward, 39–40
Saint-Pierre, Abbé de, 13
Sale, Kirkpatrick, 456n1
Salk, Jonas, 63–4, 65
Sanders, Bernie, 97
Sanger, Margaret, 400
sanitation, 63, 67, 331
San Pedro Sula, Honduras, 172
San people, 249, 353–4
São Paulo, Brazil, homicide rate in, 172
Sartre, Jean-Paul, 39–40, 446, 447
Saturday Night Live, 266
Satyarthi, Kailash, 232
Saudi Arabia, 209–210, 336, 419
Savulescu, Julian, 402
Scalia, Antonin, 336
Scandinavia. See Nordic countries
Schank, Roger, 477n20
Scheidel, Walter, 106–7
Schelling, Friedrich, 30
Schelling, Thomas, 480nn105,112
Schell, Jonathan, 309–310, 456n1
Schmitt, Carl, 447
Schneier, Bruce, 303, 304
Schopenhauer, Arthur, 39–40, 165
Schrag, Daniel, 151
Schumer, Amy, 434
Schwartz, Richard, 274
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