Posts Tagged ‘progress

Delighted to be talking on two panels at the Think Confererence in London this coming weekend. Do come along if you can.

This is the text of my article published on spiked on 2 March. There are two main ways in which the relationship between man and nature can be understood. Some contend that humans should reshape the natural world for their own benefit, while others argue that humanity should respect natural limits. The first view can […]

I will be debating “are greens the friends or the enemies of progress?” at the Zurich Salon on the evening of Tuesday 19 January. The other speakers are Thomas Vellacott (CEO of WWF Switzerland), Silvio Borner (professor of economics) and Stephen Tindale (director of the Alvin Weinberg Foundation). It will be chaired by Sabine Beppler-Spahl […]

This is my latest article for the Spiked Review of Books The Great Gatsby has become a phenomenon. Not only is there a new blockbuster film, with Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role, but also plays, dance performances and even computer games. The novel sells hundreds of thousands of copies every year and is almost […]

This is a comment by me on the Guardian’s comment is free website As the tallest building in Europe it dwarfs the others in the capital. Its distinctive style stands at odds with the historical buildings in the city centre. Prominent writers complained about its construction but the city’s inhabitants have generally come to love […]

I am opposing the motion that “the global elite serves the masses” in an Economist online debate. Please feel free to participate here.

Those who want to keep up with the latest economics books, admittedly a niche taste, cannot do much better than follow Diane Coyle’s Enlightened Economist blog. The British economics writer somehow manages to read a huge number of books on economics. Those who want to know an overview of the latest forthcoming titles would do […]

Those looking for facts to show how the world is generally improving look like having another excellent source of information. Charles Kenny’s Getting Better follows the likes of Indur Goklany, Bjorn Lomborg and Matt Ridley in showing how prosperity is benefiting humanity. For those particularly interested in the third world his work should be especially […]

How a different America responded to the Great Depression, Pew Research Center, by Jodie T Allen. Opinion poll evidence suggests Americans were more optimistic in the late 1930s than they are now. A Czar is born, Claremont Review of Books, Joseph Postell. A review of books by Cass Sunstein including Nudge. Matt Ridley on technology, […]

Hans Rosling, professor of international health at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, shows how economic growth is strongly associated with rising life expectancy over the longer term (see 13 June 2010 post for more on Gapminder). His BBC 4 documentary on the Joy of Stats is broadcast today in Britain.