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To that end, the Cato Institute has launched a website called humanprogress.org, to highlight all the good stuff that gets lost in the chaos as we fret about our dystopian present and the looming apocalypse.Cato, a public policy think tank, compiled information from academia and global organizations that shows dramatic social improvements through history, particularly in recent decades and in developing nations. The whole introductory article is worth a read, especially if you're a history buff and/or enjoyed Steven Johnson's book on this very subject, Future Perfect.But let's leave aside what life was like for Neanderthals rubbing sticks together to stay warm, or medieval peasants during the bubonic plague, or wounded soldiers for whom amputation meant a knife and a slug of whiskey. Most of the site's data focuses on well-being and socioeconomics in modern-day society—throughout the 20th century and the past decade. The overall rate of social progress over time, the group explains, can be compared to the shape of a hockey stick: slow and steady, and then skyrocketing up.The site uses charts and interactive data visualizations to depict changes across various areas of life: health, wealth, happiness, education, environment, human development, and so on. I went through and pulled out some examples. Hopefully they'll make you feel a little less depressed about the world.Fewer people are dying:
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