The Limitations of Steven Pinker's Optimism

• Although history does not repeat itself, it may rhyme
• But globalization has also led to an escalation of risks. What is rational for individuals is increasingly irrational for society. The drivers of progress are rising incomes and connectivity; these also lead to greater negative spillovers and systemic risk. Managing globalization’s underbelly is essential, and the gulf between what needs to be done and what is being done is widening. Economic growth has come at the expense of ecosystems. Because nature does not respond to price signals (rhinos do not reproduce more when their horns are more valuable), increasing freedom of choice has led to overexploitation of a growing number of natural systems.
• interconnected systems raise interdependence, complexity, and systemic risk. With globalization, as connectivity, incomes and consumption grow, so risks become multidimensional and transnational–witness pandemics, cascading financial crises and cyberattacks. New technologies turbocharge these risks and give new powers to individuals and small groups.