Stubborn Attachments - Tyler Cowen. On how economic growth helped civilization progress and which attachments we need to let go of to continue this trend. Also as Foresight Institute podcast.

Rational Optimist - Matt Ridley. On how far we got through market dynamics and how to leverage them to solve outstanding problems.

More from Less - Andrew McAfee. On how capitalism encourages technological innovation that gets humans more of what we want using less resources. Also as a Foresight Institute podcast episode. 

The Better Angels of Our Nature, Enlightenment Now - Steven Pinker. On how civilization is on a positive trajectory overall and how to reclaim the principles of the enlightenment, in particular reason and science, to continue the trajectory. Nassim Taleb wrote a critique of Pinker's claim that violence declined, which Pinker replied to, and then Taleb replied to again. 

I, Pencil - Leonard E. Read. Illustrates the achievements possible by human cooperation by following the complex production of a pencil that no one individual contributor would know how to make.

23 charts and maps that show how the world is getting much, much better. - Vox. Graphs showing the positive trajectory of civilization.

OurWorldInData - Max Roser. A treasure trove of graphs and explanations on how our world is getting better, and data on remaining large-scale problems.

Superabundance - Maryan Tupy. On innovation over Malthus.

The Birth of Plenty - William Bernstein. On the history of prosperity that we now often take for granted. 

It’s Getting Better all the Time - Stephen Moore. Shows how the US has seen more progress in the 20th Century than the world in all centuries combined. 

Jason Crawford Fireside Chat - Foresight Institute. A fireside chat on the history of progress and why we need a new philosophy to continue our ascent. Main ideas also as BigThink article,

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