Trumpism and, 336, 358, 375, 376
consumerism, 33, 47, 165, 247–8, 251, 263, 431
consumer products
consumer price index, 81–2
and consumer surplus, 82, 117, 332
consumption over time, 116–18, 116
declining prices of, 82, 251, 254–5, 254
household appliances, 251–2, 252
improvement over time of, 82, 117, 332
consumer surplus. See paradox of value
cooking smoke, 130–31, 463n28
Coolidge, Calvin, Jr., 63
Coontz, Stephanie, 113
cooperation
evolution of capacity for, 23, 415, 453
Humanist Manifesto III on, 411
Kant’s “unsocial sociability,” 482n6
well-being and, 31
Cornwall Declaration on Stewardship, 287
corporal punishment, 12, 43, 229–30
corruption, as factor in happiness, 271
Cosmides, Leda, 17
cosmopolitanism, 11
and civilizations, development of, 450–51
declared a failure, 420
and diversification of diet, 259–60
multiethnic communities, 405, 448, 450
and sympathy, circle of, 221
virtues of science as, 409
counter-Enlightenments
declinism, 32–3, 165
disdain for science, 33–4
nationalism, 30–31
religion, 30, 31
rise of, 29–30
Romanticism as, 30, 351
romantic militarism and, 165–6
See also fascism; intellectuals; nationalism; populism; religion; romantic heroism; Romanticism; science, disdain for
Counts, George, 234
Coyne, Jerry, 422, 430
Crawford, Jarret, 373
creationism, 19, 22, 356, 387, 398
Crick, Francis, 386
Crimea, annexation by Russia (2014), 164, 335
criminal punishment, 11, 12, 174, 439. See also capital punishment; violent crime
CRISPR-CAS9 gene-editing, 306–7
Critical Theory (Frankfurt School), 396–7, 406, 446
critical thinking instruction, 377–8
Croatia, 203
Cronin, Audrey, 196–7
Cronon, William, 123
Cruz, Ted, 336
Cuba, 206, 247, 376–7, 447, 484n79
Cuban Missile Crisis, 309, 312, 479n93
cultures, human development of, 23
cybernetics, 21–2
Czech Republic, 341, 489n68
d’Alembert, Jean-Baptiste, 10
Dante, 63
Darfur, 162
Darwin, Charles
Argument from Design refuted by, 421
death of children of, 56
falsely tied to scientific racism, 398, 400, 486n32
falsely tied to Social Darwinism, 398–9, 400
on humans as single species, 398
and replicating systems and evolution, 18–19
See also evolution; natural selection
data, 42–3, 44–5, 48
dataphobic mindset, 48, 49, 404–5
literary scholarship and science of, 408
most recent date for graphs in book, 156, 466n1
objections to use of, 44–7
sources of, 52
See also objective measurement; prediction
Davies’s Corollary. See Stein’s Law
Dawkins, Richard, 430, 455n6, 488n7
Deaton, Angus, 54, 56, 62, 67, 89, 92, 103–4, 269, 272, 459n16
Declaration of Independence, 12, 413
declinism, 32–3, 165. See also intellectuals; pessimism
Deconstructionism, 352, 446. See also Derrida, Jacques; Foucault, Michel; postmodernism
deep decarbonization, 145–6, 150
“deepity,” 433
“deep state,” 337, 448
Deepwater Horizon accident, 132
deforestation, 130, 131
and climate change, 136
reforestation, 76, 130, 134, 150, 459n25
DeFries, Ruth, 122, 128
Dehaene, Stanislas, 426
deism and deists, 8
Enlightenment thinkers as, 18, 22
Hitler as, 430
and morality, 422
dementia/Alzheimer’s disease, 59, 327
democracy, 199–213
civics-class ideal of, 204, 206
criteria for measuring, 201–2, 470n15
education of populace and, 235
fall of Berlin Wall and, 163, 200–201, 203
and Fukuyama’s “end of history,” 201
negative freedom and, 265
three waves of, 200–201, 202–3, 202
Trump and disdain for, 335–6, 337, 374
undermining of, 335, 374
voter ignorance in, 204
voter turnout, 343, 438
voting and elections in, 204–5, 381
war reduced by, 162–3
See also freedom of speech; human rights
Democratic Party
and climate change, 357
increased partisanship of, 371–2
innumeracy of, on polarized topics, 361
journalists in, 484n54
See also political ideologies of left and right
demographic transition, 125, 135–6, 436. See also population
demonetization, 332–3
Deng Xiaoping, 90
Denmark, 438–9, 451, 475n30, 483n39
Dennett, Daniel, 427, 430, 433
Denney, Reuel, 274
deontological ethics, 416–18
depression, 280–83, 284, 476n74
Derrida, Jacques, 406, 446
Descartes, René, Cogito ergo sum, 352
DeScioli, Peter, 415
Deutsch, David, ix, 7, 46, 295–6, 392, 410
developed countries/world, 96
life expectancy inequalities, 54–5, 95–6
lower middle classes affected by globalization, 112, 113, 118–19, 339, 340
maternal mortality changes in, 57–8, 57
natural disaster resilience of, 187–9, 188
Secularization Thesis and, 435–6, 438
social spending as universal to, 110, 115
developing countries/world, 96
calorie availability in, 70, 70
child labor and, 232
digital technology adoption by, 244
and environmental problems, awareness of, 124
escape from poverty of, 85–6, 85
Green Revolution in, 75–8
infectious disease improvements in, 67
life expectancy inequalities in, 54–5, 59, 95–6
maternal mortality changes in, 57–8, 57
natural disaster vulnerability of, 188–9
pollution in, 130–31, 463n28
safe drinking water and, 130–31, 463n28
social spending in, 109–110
undernourishment and stunting in, 70–72, 71–2
Devereux, Stephen, 72–3, 459nn35–36
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM), 281, 282
Diamandis, Peter, 330
Diamond, Jared, 450–51, 465n76
diarrhea, childhood deaths from, 66
Dickens, Charles, 230, 249
Diderot, Denis, 10, 13
Didion, Joan, 456n1
digital manufacturing, 330–31
disaster sociology, 305
; disease. See health; infectious disease; medicine
dishwashers, 252
Disraeli, Benjamin, 130, 341
Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee, 284
DNA
discovery of, 386
information accumulation and evolution of, 20
testing of, and wrongful capital punishment, 212
Doctorow, E. L., 456n1
Dominican Republic, 188
Doobie Brothers, 147
Doomsday Clock, 308–9, 311
Douglas, Michael, 147–8
drowning deaths, 182, 182
drugs, illegal
overdose deaths from, 182, 183, 184–5
violence produced by, 175–6
drugs, pharmaceutical
for depression, 281, 282
and infectious disease improvements, 67
“miracle drugs” no better than placebo, 61
for “orphan diseases,” 333
overdose deaths from, 182, 183, 184–5
side effects worse than the disease, 61
See also medicine
drunk driving, 178
Dryden, John, 407–8
D’Souza, Dinesh, 427
Duarte, José, 373
Du Bois, W. E. B., 447
Dylan, Bob, 341
ear and hearing, 18, 20–21
earthquake deaths, 187, 188
East Africa, famine in, 73
East Asia
education in, 236–8, 237–8
emancipative values in, 227, 227
interstate combat reduced in, 158
secularization and, 436, 489n68
undernourishment in, 72
Easterbrook, Gregg, 292, 457n29
Easterlin paradox, 263, 268–9, 270–71
Easterlin, Richard, 263, 268–9
Eastern Europe, 90, 200, 201, 236–7, 237, 271
Ebola, 307
ecomodernism, 32, 122–4, 134–6, 154–5
economic inequality, 97–120
absolute vs. relative inequality, 103, 114
anonymous vs. longitudinal data, 112–13, 114–15
conflation with poverty, 98–9
conflation with unfairness, 101–2
destructive events reducing, 106–7
economic stagnation and, 328–9
Gini, 98, 103, 109, 115, 118, 461n4, 467n12
Gini indexes for consumption, 117–18
global and international, 103–5, 104–5
government role in ameliorating, 119
graduated income tax and, 107
happiness stagnation of U.S. and, 272
homicide rates and, 170–71, 467n12
and individual psychology, 99–102
Kuznets curve, inequality vs. time, 103–6, 110, 111
lower classes not worse off, 114–18, 116
lower middle classes and, 112, 113, 118–19, 339, 340
as political issue, 97
rise of, beginning about 1980, 110–113, 111
social spending and, 107–110, 115–16, 116
Spirit Level theory of effects of, 100–101
theoretical basis for, 102–3
and theory of social comparison, 99–100
Trump and, 335
zero-sum thinking about, 99
economics
comparative advantage, 92
demonetization, 332–3
and infectious disease improvements, 67
information tech confounding measures, 332–3
populist elections not determined by, 339, 340
See also capitalism; commerce; consumer products; economic inequality; economic stagnation; GDP; globalization; Great Recession; Gross World Product; Kuznets curve; paradox of value; poverty; productivity; social spending; wealth
economic stagnation, 328–33
Eddington, Arthur, 16–17
Edison, Thomas, 252
education
basic educational attainment, 236–8, 237
and child labor, end of, 230–31
compulsory, 231, 234
cost of, 118
critical thinking and debiasing instruction, 377–9
democracy and peace dividend from, 235
distance learning, 238, 331
Enlightenment values and, 234, 235–6
and escape from poverty, 234
formal schools, development of, 233–4
future of, 331
of girls and women, 235, 239–40, 239, 473n27
and global well-being, 245–6, 246, 473n45
as human right, 234
and IQ scores, global rise in, 242, 245
modern economies and requirements of, 118
online courses, 238, 260, 331
population peak and, 238
preschool programs, 239
religions meddling in, 234
school readiness, improvements in, 239
secularization and, 435–6, 438
substandard, 118
Trump and, 335, 339
utilitarianism and, 417
See also literacy; university and college education
Effective Altruism, 119, 381, 403, 462n69
Egalitarian Revolution, 107
Ehrlich, Paul, 64, 74, 366, 465n76
Einstein, Albert, 308, 309
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 280
Eisner, Manuel, 169, 171, 174
Eldering, Grace, 64
electricity, 141, 146–50, 251, 252, 330
Elias, Norbert, 168–9
Elion, Gertrude, 64
Eliot, T. S., 284, 456n10
El Salvador, 85, 86, 158, 172
emancipative values, 224–8
age vs. period vs. cohort effects and, 224–5, 226–7, 227–8, 341–2
environmental protection and, 124
GDP as predictor of, 228
and hierarchy of needs, 224
Knowledge Index as predictor of, 228, 472n45
secularization and, 438
emotions, evaluations of well-being and, 267. See also happiness; well–being, subjective
Encyclopédistes, 353
Enders, John, 64
energy
battery storage of, 146, 150, 330
biomass, 146, 147, 151
deaths caused by various sources of, 146–7
fossil fuels as 86 percent of world’s total, 137
natural gas, 136, 143, 147, 183
new technologies, 330
nuclear, 144–5, 146–50, 330, 465n76
as resisting entropy, 23–4, 32
smart grids, 330
solar and wind, 146, 147, 330
See also coal; food and food security; petroleum
Engels, Friedrich, 103
England
air pollution and, 130
calories available per person, 70, 70
child labor force in, 230, 231, 231
and commerce, embrace of, 84–5
cost of artificial light in, 253, 253, 254
homicide rates in, 169, 170, 171, 171
and literacy, female, 239, 239
poverty workhouses, 79
rights, statement of, 411
romantic militarism of, 165–6
suicide rates in, 278–9, 279
transition, patronage to open economy, 83–4
water pollution and, 130
See also United Kingdom
Enlightenment, the, 7–14
capital punishment and, 210
and consilience, unity of knowledge, 390
criticized as Western, 29–30, 419
defense ne
eded, 4–6, 29, 34–5, 349–50, 451–3
definition of (Kant), 7–8, 289
education and, 234, 235–6
Islamic Enlightenment, movement for, 442–3
Emanuel Macron’s victory speech defending, 339
media pronouncements of failure, 338, 420, 451
non-Western, 29–30, 419, 439, 442–3, 456n2
Obama’s farewell speech crediting, 338, 481n30
opposition to. See counter-Enlightenments
populism not a referendum on, 338–9, 481nn30,32
spirit of commerce, 84
spirit of science, 409
and sympathy, 415
theoconservatism and rejection of, 449
war denunciation and alternatives, 162–3
wealth as created vs. finite, 12–13, 80
Enslow, Linn, 64
entropy, 13–19
energy capture as resisting, 23–4, 32
immortality unlikely due to, 61
indifference of the universe and, 24
living things as locally anti-entropic, 18–19, 20
See also Entropy, Law of; order
Entropy, Law of, 15, 16
and creationist arguments against evolution, 19
and death, ease of, 25, 414–15
everyday sayings illustrating, 16
harms more potent than benefits, 28
importance of, 16–17
meaning of life as fighting back against, 17, 344
progress and, 344
See also Second Law of Thermodynamics
environmentalism, humanistic. See ecomodernism
environmental movement (traditional), 32, 121–2
greenism, 32, 122, 129
misanthropy of, 122, 134, 154
opposition to genetically modified crops, 77
population bomb, fear of, 56, 73–4, 125–6, 125
resource shortages, fear of, 126–7
successes of, 121, 134, 463n35
sustainability, 127–9, 328
technological solutions, hostility to, 124–5, 151
See also environmental protection
Environmental Performance Index, 130
environmental protection, 121–2, 134–6
acid rain treaties, 134
anxiety produced by, 286–7
cooking smoke, 130–31, 463n28
deforestation, 130, 131
dematerialization and, 135
densification and, 134–5
developing countries addressing, 130–31
drinking water, 63, 130–31, 463n28
emission reductions, 129–30
government regulation and, 133–4, 136
hierarchy of needs and, 124
Kuznets curve for, 124, 463n9, 463n35
landfills and garbage, 287
nuclear weapons test ban treaty, 133–4
oil spills, 131–2, 132
ozone layer, 134
Peak Stuff and, 135–6