Alternate links: Google News | Twitter

But no, really. The facts are on the side of optimism. Many trend lines are upward and to the right Take, for example, the standard of living in much of the world. The World Bank estimates that the global extreme poverty rate was 43% in 1985. It's now less than 9%. That's extraordinary progress over the past 40 years ' largely thanks to capitalism and global trade.

Millennials on track to become wealthiest generation. Guess what? Millennials are now financially better off than baby boomers were at the same age, and they're on track to become the wealthiest generation in human history. You know who is likely to surpass them? Their children.