Ten Reasons We're Wrong About the World – and Why Things Are Better Than You Think
by Hans Rosling, Ola Rosling, Anna Rosling Rönnlund
Well, I stand enlightened. I knew my views o
f the world were probably a little on the pessimistic side, but I had no idea how much they were. Mind you--this book is not all rosy and cheery. It's just facts.
He tends to divide the world's living conditions into four groups or "levels", with one being what we'd call pretty backward--no running water, food insecurity, no toilet; and four being the standard western lifestyle. Which, by the way, not every one in even America meets. But the majority of the world is on level 2 right now but it's not a big majority--almost as many live on level 3, with running water, a refrigerator, transportation to work, kids finishing high school. And in a few years, the curve will shift upward and that will be the majority.
The main thing I learned is that yeah, even in arenas that are very depressing, the trend is often upward. You just need to look at the numbers. Women are having fewer babies, even in catholic countries, and the babies are living longer. Kids are getting vaccinated--although in America, maybe not for long.
So I recommend this book. It's readable--very--but not light or "trendy". The research is serious and the math is not trivialized.
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