Why the world is much better off than you think

Think the world’s going to hell in a handbasket? Stats from a new book show the opposite is true

Guys, it’s really not that bad. In fact, it’s the best it’s ever been.

That’s Harvard psychologist Steven Pinker’s argument in his new book “Enlightenment Now” (Viking). We may be inundated with horrific stories of school shootings, natural disasters due to climate change and Russian hacking — but Pinker still believes there’s never been a better time to be alive.

His 550-page door-stopper, a spiritual follow-up to 2011’s “The Better Angels of Our Nature,” which argued the world is less violent than ever, shows that our planet is also smarter, safer, richer and happier. Bill Gates is one of the most vocal supporters of the new tome, calling it “my new favorite book of all time.”

“The world has made spectacular progress in every single measure of human well-being. Here is the second shocker: Almost no one knows about it,” Pinker writes.

He argues that the 18th century Enlightenment ideals of reason over irrationality, science over dogma, and humanism and peace over tribalism and war have been cornerstones of progress — and are now in need of a passionate defense.

“Not every problem is a Crisis, Plague, Epidemic or Existen- tial Threat, and not every change is the End of This, the Death of That or the Dawn of a Post-Something Era. Don’t confuse pessimism with profundity: problems are inevitable, but problems are solvable, and diagnosing every setback as a symptom of a sick society is a cheap grab for gravitas,” Pinker writes. Pinker urges people to look at the bigger picture and dive into the data. Specifically: The global average IQ score is rising about 3 points every decade. The world is a hundred times wealthier than it was two centuries ago and prosperity is becoming more evenly distributed. Today people work less, have more vacation days and spend less time on housework. “Remember your math: An anecdote is not a trend. Remember your history: The fact that something is bad today doesn’t mean it was better in the past,” Pinker argues. “For all the bleeding headlines, for all the crises, collapses, scandals, plagues, epidemics and existential threats, these are accomplishments to savor.” Here’s even more evidence of his theories from “Enlightenment Now” . . .