It's easy to get down these days. The economy is in the toilet. Our government is incompetent. Swine flu. Unexplained jumbo jets flying around Manhattan. Commercial real estate. It's all a nightmare, no doubt.
These days, the most pessimistic critical pundits get all the praise. No matter what they really predicted, or how long they were calling for armageddon, they're all lauded for being geniuses.
What's more, the negative viewpoint on things is considered to be the most intellectually honest or interesting, despite the fact that human society continues to get better and better -- dips and stumbles aside.
Alex Tabarrok, the GMU economist who you may know as Tyler Cowen's sidekick at Marginal Revoluion, gave a talk at TED, whose basic idea is: there's a great deal to be optimistic about in the world. We've gotten through horrible things in the past.
Take a few minutes and watch the video.
