Our lives are deteriorating and the world is rapidly heading to hell in a handbasket. The future is hopelessly bleak.
Climate change and global warming due to rising CO2 levels are causing extreme weather events. Hurricanes, floods, fires and droughts are getting more severe, causing unprecedented loss of life and property. The polar ice caps are melting, the sea level is rising. We are running out of fresh water and other resources. The world cannot have any more people. We are facing air and water pollution, pandemics, increasing crime and global conflict, inflation, traffic congestion.
GMO and “frankenfoods” are destroying our food supply. AI and robotic manufacturing will cause mass unemployment. The rich are getting richer and the poor poorer. The widening inequality of wealth and income will lead to social disruption. The message that we are doomed is all pervasive: it is on the mainstream media, internet, TV, taught in schools, promoted by NGOs and governments.
We are being burdened by a debilitating pessimism that harms the young especially. But what if all that is mostly false and exaggerated half-truths? Why are we being relentlessly lied to? Who gains from this?
The Antidote
We are persistently being told a poisonous tale of doom and gloom. The antidote to that is for us to become better informed about the true state of our world, how it got to be the way it is, and why the world is getting better. We should have an accurate picture of how much richer the world is today compared to any time in the past. We have to understand what made the great leap in human flourishing possible. Those same forces will continue to operate and create a beautiful future whose broad outlines are clear.
I am presenting a short course that makes a robust argument for justified optimism about a future of unlimited prosperity and flourishing. It will introduce the basic principles that explain how the world works, and why. It aims to make us be less wrong in our understanding of the world.
The basic goal is to understand, appreciate and take delight in how magical our world is, what makes it so, and how best to prepare to meet the future. This course is especially important for students because they are the future.
Course Details
This is a 10-session course which will meet in person once a week for one contact hour. The course requires about two hours of homework per week. The contact hour will begin with a brief review of the homework material, followed by questions and discussions. There will be a one-hour introductory meeting to get acquainted, address any questions and concerns, and course registration.
I have taught most of the several parts in various formal classroom settings. I have also offered this course as an online course in California in 2021.
There are no prerequisites for this course other than being literate, being able to do arithmetic, and most importantly being curious about the world.
Fees
The course fee is Rs 2,000 for students, and Rs 3,000 for others. Half the fees are due before the 3rd contact hour, and the other half before the 6th. Anyone can attend for free.
Schedule
- Introductory meeting: Wed 24th July. 7:30 PM @ PJC City Club Reading Room
- Contact hours 1 through 10 on Wednesdays starting 31st July.
Topics Covered
The course is about how to think about the world, not what to think. Therefore economics will inform our investigations.
- Were the good old days good — Why is the world wonderful today — How awesome will the future be — Why
- Wealth — Technology — Relationship between science, engineering and technology — The acceleration of technology — Energy — Education
- Why are some countries rich — Freedom — Markets — Exchange — Population — Natural resources — Will humanity run out of resources — Population — Climate change — There are no limits to growth
- The fundamental principles of economics — Competition — Spontaneous order — Specialization — Knowledge and labor
- What governments should do — Can the government make us rich — Civic freedom — Political freedom — Economic freedom — Capitalism, Socialism, Communism
About Atanu Dey
I am an economist. I received my Ph.D. in economics from University of California at Berkeley. My postgraduate degrees are in computer science (IIT Kanpur and Rutgers University, USA.) and my undergraduate degree is in mechanical engineering (Nagpur University). For more about me, visit atanudey.com.
Email: atanudey@gmail.com. Phone: India (+91) 869-101-4768.