The West Is Good
“No other collection of values and ideas than those of the Enlightenment has resulted in freer, longer, healthier, and richer lives.”
Tony Morley
Progress studies and human flourishing writer, researcher, and communicator. Classical liberal, Fellow O'Shaughnessy Ventures. Founder, The Up Wing
E26: The Toa of Liberty, 20 million lives saved in Africa, Argentina's progress, giving up on “defeatists” and more:
Tony Morley, May 4th, 2026 “Argentina’s rapid transformation from nearly a century of socialism to free market capitalism continues to prove the superiority of the latter. It is rare that we get to witness such a radical experiment in real time. It is no surprise, however, that it’s
It's Brighter Than It Looks, TEDxHawkesbury
Tony Morley, April 18th, 2026 “War in Europe and the Middle East, and political unrest in the United States. Hunger, poverty, violence. You’d be forgiven, exposed as we are to the narrative of modern media, for believing that the golden age of humanity lies behind us. That the present
E25: Economic growth and happiness, raising IQ with salt, child mortality down 60% since 1990, and more:
Tony Morley, March 31st, 2026 “When lawmakers believe the world is growing less fair by the day, they reach for bigger government as the default response. But if the real goal is upward mobility, opportunity, and a decent life for regular people, the biggest obstacle is not “the rich.” It
E24: Trade, Trust, The Wealth of Nations, “First-of-its-kind vaccine” for E. coli in children, and more:
Tony Morley, March 12th, 2026 “The growth of the world’s population, combined with the expansion of the rule of law, property rights, and economic freedom, has ushered in a superabundant age of prosperity and lower prices. Zoomers have enjoyed the fruits of this economic miracle and are forecast to
E23: Free trade, food prices in context, a century of plenty, 99 Stories of Progress and more:
Tony Morley, February 20th, 2026 “But progress is a choice. Making what is possible probable needs a new narrative. A story in which growth is good, plenty is achievable, and people are inspired to innovate and build.” — McKinsey Global Institute Welcome to The Up Wing You’re reading The Up
The Enlightenment Isn't Dead, Yet
Turning our back on the culture that built civilization will stifle progress and sow poverty, decline and conflict, at home and abroad Tony Morley, December 12th, 2025 “The solution is to embrace leaders and policies that turn outward, not inward; and that embrace freedom, not control.” Welcome to The Up
E22: “Pears grown in Argentina, packed in Thailand and sold in the United States”
Tony Morley, November 25th, 2025 “Yet while getting no respect, free markets – or “capitalism” – have delivered exceptional results over a period spanning more than 200 years and reaching around the globe to every country where they’ve been tried.” — Matthew Lau Welcome to The Up Wing You’re reading The
E21: In defence of neoliberalism, most people think life is likely to get better, mining for progress, and more:
Tony Morley, November 20th, 2025 “But the facts are clear: There can be enough for everyone. The data tell us that lives are better now than lives were in the past—even though there are now many more lives around. Fears of a depleted, overpopulated future are out of date.
E20: “Good vs Evil” — the best podcast episode of the year, declining global poverty, crop yields continue to increase through 2025 and more.
Tony Morley, September 23rd, 2025 “We're going to pander to the evil? No. What makes the West great is that we do good after evil, not evil after evil.” — Charlie Kirk Welcome to The Up Wing You’re reading The Up Wing, Edition 20, progress and optimistic news
E19: Poverty is declining, the benefits of freer trade, Ireland’s escape from poverty and more:
Tony Morley, September 10th, 2025 “While freer trade—in both exports and imports—makes us better off, the opposite is also true. Barriers to free trade, such as tariffs, have a negative impact on our economic well-being.” — The benefits of freer trade Welcome to The Up Wing You’re
E18: Trump is a degrowther, tariffs are taxing Americans hard, trade lifts all boats and “Breakfast for Eight Billion”
Tony Morley, August 28th, 2025 “Degrowth argues that people should not only tolerate but desire a smaller economy. That’s second-term Trumponomics, and everyone stands to be worse off for it.” — Annie Lowrey Welcome to The Up Wing You’re reading The Up Wing, Edition 18, progress and optimistic