Reason.com - Free Minds and Free Markets
Reason logo Reason logo
  • Latest
  • Magazine
    • Current Issue
    • Archives
    • Subscribe
    • Crossword
  • Video
  • Podcasts
    • All Shows
    • The Reason Roundtable
    • The Reason Interview With Nick Gillespie
    • The Soho Forum Debates
    • Just Asking Questions
    • The Best of Reason Magazine
    • Why We Can't Have Nice Things
  • Volokh
  • Newsletters
  • Donate
    • Donate Online
    • Donate Crypto
    • Ways To Give To Reason Foundation
    • Torchbearer Society
    • Planned Giving
  • Subscribe
    • Reason Plus Subscription
    • Print Subscription
    • Gift Subscriptions
    • Subscriber Support

Login Form

Create new account
Forgot password

Human Progress

"After the Spike" book cover | Illustration: Eddie Marshall | Midjourney | Simon & Schuster

Book Reviews

The Depopulation Bomb

What if the challenge for humanity’s future is not too many people on a crowded planet, but too few people to sustain the progress that the world needs?

Ronald Bailey | 7.8.2025 7:30 AM

Subscribe to Reason Plus for early access.

Reason logo and LA Press Club logo | lllustration: Eddie Marshall | Midjourney

Awards

Reason Nominated for 17 Southern California Journalism Awards

Nominees include stories on inflation breaking brains, America's first drug war, Afghans the U.S. left behind, Javier Milei, and much more.

Billy Binion | 5.14.2025 9:57 AM

Bailey | Illustration: Joanna Andreasson; Source images: retrorocket, MHJ/iStock

Innovation

Progress, Rediscovered

A new movement promoting scientific, technological, and economic solutions to humanity's problems emerges.

Ronald Bailey | 4.6.2024 6:00 AM

Steven Pinker outside of Harvard's campus | Illustration: Lex Villena

Higher Education

Steven Pinker: What Went Wrong at Harvard

The psychologist and bestselling author argues that Harvard's free speech policy was so "selectively prosecuted that it became a national joke."

Nick Gillespie | 3.27.2024 10:45 AM

American Flag blowing in the breeze | Joshua Hoehne / Unsplash

Happiness

American Nightmare

Plus: Squatters, Julian Assange, teen babysitters, Hong Kong migration, and more...

Liz Wolfe | 3.21.2024 9:30 AM

A globe is seen in front of 0 bills | Illustration: Lex Villena; Midjourney

Inequality

Despite the Doomsday Narrative, Global Inequality Has Significantly Declined

This progress has been widely shared, to the great benefit of the people at the bottom of the distribution.

Veronique de Rugy | 9.14.2023 9:15 AM

Deneen2 | Photo: Regime Change; Sentinel

Classical liberalism

Liberalism Isn't Rule by Elites

But Patrick Deneen’s “common-good conservatism” almost certainly would be.

Stephanie Slade | 6.7.2023 1:55 PM

Stefan Sagmeister's bold new exhibition draws on the work of Steven Pinker, Our World in Data, and Human Progress to document how much life has improved since the good old days

Art

'Now Is Better,' Says Legendary Designer Stefan Sagmeister

His bold new exhibition draws on the work of Steven Pinker, Our World in Data, and Human Progress to document how much life has improved since the good old days.

Nick Gillespie | 5.18.2023 10:50 AM

Black and white photo of Stefan Sagmeister on the left with art on the right | Patrick Parrish/Lex Villena/Reason

Art

Stefan Sagmeister: An Artist Who Believes 'Now Is Better'

The legendary graphic designer juxtaposes 18th- and 19th-century paintings with visualizations of how much life has improved over the centuries.

Nick Gillespie | 5.17.2023 11:00 AM

ChatGPT logo pictured next to a fork, drink, recipe, and shopping list | Illustration: Lex Villena; Ernest Akayeu, Valentina Razumova, Victoria Shibut, Piliphoto

Artificial Intelligence

ChatGPT Planned My Dinner and I Have No Complaints

A.I. won’t kill cooking. Instead, it’ll help people become more creative and efficient in the kitchen.

Fiona Harrigan | 4.8.2023 7:00 AM

A picture of Thanos from the Marvel movies on a tan background with black, white, and red text reading 'Thanos Is Wrong' | Lex Villena, Reason

Population

Marian Tupy and Gale Pooley: More People Means More Wealth

The Superabundance authors make a compelling case that the world is getting richer for everyone.

Nick Gillespie | 12.14.2022 11:00 AM

dreamstime_xl_88337533 (0-00-00-00) | ID 88337533 © James Kirkikis | Dreamstime.com

Christmas

Crashing Through the Snow: The Grim Sarcasm Behind 'Jingle Bells'

Thanks to technological progress, cars are much safer than one-horse open sleighs.

Chelsea Follett | 12.23.2021 7:00 AM

wennphotossix118660 | PF1/WENN/Newscom

Star Wars

Hope Must Conquer Fear in Politics

Princess Leia shows us why hope is crucial for a liberty-oriented way of life.

Stephen Kent | 11.4.2021 3:00 PM

v3 | Lex Villena

Human Progress

The Doubling of Life Expectancy Is the Greatest Achievement in 100 Years

Science writer Steven Johnson, author of the new book Extra Life, on vaccines, medical breakthroughs, and life after Covid.

Nick Gillespie | 6.10.2021 10:45 AM

topicshistory | Joanna Andreasson. Photo: janrysavy/iStock

History

Welcome to the New World Civilization

Even as specific states or regions rise and fade in prominence, their inhabitants continue to enjoy the benefits of their civilization's cumulative experience and knowledge.

Virginia Postrel | 10.14.2020 6:00 AM

thumb | Lex Villena

Environmentalism

The World Is Doing Better Than Ever. Here's Why You Never Hear About It.

Ten Global Trends Every Smart Person Should Know documents progress and explains why it happens.

Nick Gillespie and Ronald Bailey | 9.14.2020 11:20 AM

topicshistory | Cornelisz Anthonisz 837 M EinsturzdesTurmes/Alamy

History

COVID-19 and the Collapse of Complex Societies

Stephen Davies | 6.2.2020 6:00 AM

goodfeatureronbailey2 | Marion Michele/Unsplash

Human Progress

Impending Defeat for the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

Pestilence, war, famine, and death are all on the decline.

Ronald Bailey | 8.3.2019 6:00 AM

Paul Ehrlich is never right | Nerthuz/Dreamstime

Human Progress

Earth Is Nearly 520 Percent More Abundant Now Than in 1980

Thanks to the ultimate resource: the human mind

Ronald Bailey | 5.31.2019 12:17 PM

True prophet of abundance | UI

Julian Simon

Simon Abundance Index Launch on Monday at the Cato Institute

Mark the 49th anniversary of Earth Day by celebrating human ingenuity.

Ronald Bailey | 4.19.2019 4:20 PM

Large image on homepages

Julian Simon

Resources Are Almost 5 Times as Abundant as They Were in 1980

New Simon Abundance Index elegantly refutes primitive zero-sum intuitions with respect to population and resource availability trends.

Ronald Bailey | 12.4.2018 12:40 PM

Large image on homepages | Mark Blinch/REUTERS/Newscom

Prescription Drugs

Happy 20th Birthday to Viagra, the Accidental Boner Pill That Changed America

Bob Dole's magical pill changed the way Americans think about sickness and treatment.

Mike Riggs | 3.27.2018 4:45 PM

Large image on homepages

Paul Ehrlich

Civilization Is Doomed, Says Stanford Biologist Paul Ehrlich (Again)

Half a century after The Population Bomb, Ehrlich still thinks global catastrophe is just around the corner.

Ronald Bailey | 3.22.2018 3:25 PM

Large image on homepages | Koroleva Irina/flickr

Human Progress

40 Ways the World Is Getting Better

The shape of human progress.

Marian Tupy | 7.18.2017 7:00 AM

Large image on homepages

Africa

The Prospects for Progress in Africa

Nigeria will have a higher population than the U.S. by mid-century, when one in four people on Earth will live in Africa.

Marian Tupy | 5.9.2017 7:00 AM

Large image on homepages

Human Progress

Human Conditions Improving at a Remarkable Speed

Over the last decade, GDP per person and life expectancy are up around the world while infant mortality and undernourished rates are down.

Marian Tupy | 3.28.2017 7:30 AM

Large image on homepages

Freedom

Are Freer Countries Just Better?

The public thinks so, and with freer countries having higher incomes, longer lifespans and lower rates of infant mortality, why wouldn't they?

Marian Tupy | 3.14.2017 7:00 AM

Large image on homepages

Hans Rosling

How Much Do You Really Know About the State of the World?

Take Hans Rosling's Test Your World Knowledge quiz and find out

Ronald Bailey | 12.21.2016 1:00 PM

  • About
  • Browse Topics
  • Events
  • Staff
  • Jobs
  • Donate
  • Advertise
  • Subscribe
  • Contact
  • Media
  • Shop
  • Amazon
Reason Facebook@reason on XReason InstagramReason TikTokReason YoutubeApple PodcastsReason on FlipboardReason RSS

© 2025 Reason Foundation | Accessibility | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300
Take Reason's short survey for a chance to win $300