This overhaul of the original 1980 edition, bolstered with much new data, affirms the natural harmony between private self-interest and society as a whole. Simon dramatically highlights the wonders of spontaneous free markets and the evils of well-meaning government intervention around the world. He shows that people can achieve practically anything when they are free. He does all this while providing a splendid overview of human progress. For instance, he shows that thanks to limitless human ingenuity, the more natural resources we consume, the more abundant they tend to be.
Technological progress means more productivity from almost everything.
Two decades ago, we were told that unless governments took decisive action, devastating famines would soon sweep the earth. Yet Simon reports that more private land is being cultivated around the world now, especially in poor countries, and average yields per acre are increasing. Far from needing government intervention to prevent famine, government intervention is the scourge responsible for famine. And the area necessary can be reduced to a tenth or a hundredth of that by producing the food in ten or hundred story buildings. Wherever Simon turns his keen analytical eye, he sees human ingenuity banishing fear.