The Importance of Being a Rational Optimist

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Being a rational optimist means acknowledging that progress comes with problems. The idea of an ossified belief system baffles me. Karl Popper emphasized the infinite possibilities of the future. It is our moral duty to be optimistic, as pessimism would lead to societal ruin.

James Pethokoukis is a policy analyst, official CNBC contributor, and Dewitt Wallace Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He is also the creator and writer of the Faster, Please! newsletter, which is dedicated to “discovering, creating, and inventing a better world through technological innovation, economic growth, and pro-progress culture.” James joins the show to discuss his new book, The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised. Important Links:

Show Notes:

What Happened to America?
Up Wing vs. Down Wing Thinking
AI as a General Purpose Technology; Regulatory Capture
Technological Proficiency & Problem Solving
How to Reframe Tomorrow
“Be Like the Blade of Grass”
Green Shoots of Optimism
AI as a Lifelong Learning Instructor
We Are the Economy
Three Policies That Could Change the Future
James as Emperor of the World
MORE!

Books Mentioned:

The Conservative Futurist: How to Create the Sci-Fi World We Were Promised; by James Pethokoukis
The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World; by David Deutsch
The Hypomanic Edge: The Link Between (a Little) Craziness and (a Lot Of) Success in America; by John Gartner
The Tao Te Ching; by Lao Tzu
The Genius of the Beast: A Radical Re-Vision Of Capitalism; by Howard Bloom