E17: Population drives human progress, factories bring prosperity, 'How the West Wins from Globalization' and much more:
Tony Morley, August 7th, 2025
‘Sydney Sweeney Has Great Jeans,’ and factories help poor countries develop, and their people prosper.
This week, Noah Smith dropped a hot take on the Sydney Sweeney controversy and why the spiral into her ad being a glorification of the fruits of sweatshop labour is absolute nonsense. The piece is indeed similar to the op-ed I wrote for the National Review in June of 2025, Factories of Progress, in which I argue much the same as Smith, that factories and industralization raise living standards for the world's poor, not hinder them.
“Poor countries have to get rich somehow. This is the tried-and-true method.”
“I authored this study & I agree with [Noah] that the main thing driving most countries out of poverty is industrialization.” — Chris Blattman
Noah Smith
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How the West Wins from Globalization, Tony Morley for National Review
Toward the end of July, I wrote for the National Review on how globalization and trade have driven progress, abundance, life expectancy and living standards, both in the United States, and globally; and what we stand to lose if we turn our collective backs on free markets, trade, and interconnectedness.
“America should continue to lean into what Americans produce best: brilliant minds and equally brilliant ideas, not toasters and plastic flamingos.”
“And let’s not forget the smartphones, headphones, waterproof jackets, laptop computers, silicone spatulas, and millions of other items that have become significantly less expensive and more abundant through the last 50 years of globalized trade.”
Lifting the Bottom: How Western Economies Are Growing Fairer and Richer
Rather than suffering a global inequality nightmare, Daniel Waldenström argues that economic growth has lifted wealth and living standards in Western countries, and improved the lives of those living in every socio-economic strata. “To promote continued progress, policymakers should focus on expanding opportunity and lifting the bottom.”
“Since 1980, life expectancy in advanced economies has increased by six years. High school completion has become nearly universal. Goods once considered luxuries—like personal computers—are now common. These are signs of a system that has lifted the bottom even as some at the top thrived.”
Daniel Waldenström
People are reporting that they're living better lives
“In 2024, a median of 33% of adults across 142 countries rated their lives well enough to be classified as “thriving.” Maybe, just maybe — it's not as bad as the media wants, in fact needs, you to believe.
“Rates of thriving have risen consistently across demographics. Men and women, young and old, all now rate their lives better than they did in the past. As thriving has increased, rates of suffering have inched downward. In 2024, a median of 7% globally were classed as suffering in life, matching the lowest point on record going back to 2007, and significantly lower than a decade ago (12% in 2014).”
Benedict Vigers
After the Spike: Why more people equates to more progress
“If progress halts or reverses, if life becomes worse, then it would be like we moved toward humanity’s poorer past.” — Dean Spears and Michael Geruso
A new book, just released in July of 2025, by authors Dean Spears and Michael Geruso, makes a rather compelling case, namely that population and prosperity are positively linked, rather than the much-held belief that they’re negatively correlated. The fears of overpopulation being the fifth horseman of the apocalypse have fallen flat for over two hundred years; however, it’s never been more critical to understand how a growing population has led to much prosperity, and what the implications of a shrinking population might be.
“So much of the progress that we now take for granted sprang up in a large and interconnected society. We have flourished beyond the dreams of anyone living in our small-world past. That is no coincidence.” — Dr. Dean Spears, Dr. Michael Geruso, After the Spike
Dean Spears,Michael Geruso
The book review from New Scientist: If you think "that a falling population is a good thing, you really should read it.”
“That said, if you think that the world’s population isn’t going to fall, or that it will be easy to halt its fall, or that a falling population is a good thing, you really should read it.”
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“More people mean more ideas, and more ideas mean increasing abundance and better solutions to problems. "Without people to do the discovering, innovating, and testing, less creation will happen. Less advancement. Less progress,”
Ronald Bailey
It turns out, “Javier Milei’s free-market gamble is paying off”
The dramatic reforms put forward by Javier Milei in his free-market driven quest to get Argentina out of a deep economic hole aren’t just breaking even, they’re making far more progress than many expected, and certainly more than most are giving him credit for. Perhaps it’s time for other leaders to consider which aspects of Milei’s approach could work in their countries.
“The dire warnings from the economic establishment that Milei’s bold experiment in slashing the burden of the state have been proved woefully wide of the mark.”
Matthew Lynn
Global trade policy fragmentation would pose risks for developing countries
Connecting to global value chains has helped low- and middle-income countries lift millions out of poverty, and for the people of those countries to dramatically improve their standards of living. Threats to the interconnectedness, efficiency, and largely free trade of the modern era could slow, halt or even reverse the hard-won gains provided by five decades of improving global economic fluidity.
“Almost 80 years of trade based on non-discrimination have served the world well. Adoption of discriminatory trade rules, higher tariffs, and more rules of origin could unravel decades of progress for developing countries, jeopardizing the poverty-reducing effect of global value chains.”
Ernani Checcucci
Cardiovascular disease mortality has declined "dramatically"
“For much of history, heart disease was a mystery. Middle-aged adults often collapsed without warning, and doctors usually blamed “dropsy”, “apoplexy”, or simply “old age.”
More than a century of medical progress in the field of surgery, the development of new drugs, early detection and improved emergency intervention have reduced deaths from heart disease and stroke dramatically.
By: Saloni Dattani
Hacking turbulence with machine learning to make flying safer and more comfortable
While there’s never been a safer time to fly, general turbulence and severe turbulence events have been increasing in recent years. The good news is that new machine learning tools look as though they will be able to successfully sift through the data. The technology is swiftly becoming an integral tool in helping aircraft navigate turbulent skies, making flying safer and more comfortable.
"The common view is you can either avoid or accept turbulence and deal with it by buckling up and reinforcing the wing," he tells me. "But we say you don't need to accept it.”
Philip Maughan
"About 20 years ago we could forecast around 60% of turbulence," he says, "today it's more like 75% and I suppose it's my career goal to push that number up and up."
China's carbon emissions per kilowatt-hour continue to fall
In a historic first, China has cut its carbon emissions per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to below 500 grams, down from 514g/kWh during the same period in 2024 and 539g/kWh from January to June 2023.
The “Precautionary Principle” Can Distort Decision-Making
The precautionary principle may be hindering progress, stifling living standards, and claiming the lives and eyesight of thousands of children each day. The team at Kite and Key go to bat for progress, and why taking risks and embracing innovation is critical for prosperity.
“A Filipino court blocked the use of the rice because it said the nation’s constitution required abiding by the precautionary principle.”
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