Optimism is empirically supported: Michael Strain

Written by Victor Perton | Apr 17, 2023 7:10:57 PM

"Optimism is empirically supported. Economic outcomes and broader quality of life have improved dramatically over the past several decades. Go back further, and the improvements are even greater. Moreover, pessimism is a self-reinforcing spiral: In market economies, hard work and risk-taking are rewarded, but if pessimists convince people otherwise, then the pessimists will have created the very problem they are concerned about. Our best days are ahead, as they have been for over two centuries — it is morning, not midnight."

Beautifully put by Michael Strain.

Michael R Strain is the Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy and Director of Economic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute.

Michael is also the author of The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It).

Two of the passages I love:

"We need to fortify the American Dream in the face of real challenges. No one should seriously argue otherwise. But the Dream is certainly not dead, and we should not let a populist scream convince us otherwise. That scream was more understandable in the depths of the Great Recession and the slow and uneven economic recovery from it. But it is time to set aside our fear of the future. It is time to set aside pessimism in favor of optimism."

"The American people should be optimistic because of the many reasons for optimism. That optimism should be a foundation for a renewal of energy and personal responsibility. The American Dream is alive, and it should breathe life into the American people. The American Dream is alive, but it requires hard work and asks all Americans for their contributions."

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