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By now, some of you will hardly be able to contain your protests.
讀到這里，諸位當中有些恐怕已經克制不住要提出抗議了。
Surely the evidence of progress is all around us?
難道我們周圍不到處都是進步的證據嗎？
That is the case put forward in "It's Getting Better All the Time," by the late Julian Simon and Stephen Moore then at the Cato Institute, a libertarian think tank in Washington, D.C.
這正是已故的朱利安•西蒙和斯蒂芬•穆爾在“我們的生活越來越好”一文中提出的觀點，他們當時在華盛頓一家自由派智褒團——凱托研究所工作。
Over almost 300 pages they show how vastly everyday life has improved in every way.
他們用將近300頁的內容說明了人們日常生活的各個方面是如何得到了巨大的改進。
For aeons people lived to the age of just 25 or 30 and most parents could expect to mourn at least one of their children.
在歷史漫長的歲月中，人一般只能活到25歲或30歲，而且多數父母都會痛失至少一個孩子。
Today people live to 65 and, in countries such as Japan and Canada, over 80;
今天，人們已經能夠活到65歲，在日本和加拿大那樣的國家，人們甚至能活到80多歲；
outside Africa, a child's death is mercifully rare.
幸運的是，在非洲以外的地方，嬰兒的死亡已經非常罕見。
Global average income was for centuries about $200 a year;
幾個世紀以來，全球人均年收入都只有大約200美元；
a typical inhabitant of one of the world's richer countries now earns that much in a day.
現在，在世界上較富裕的國家里，一個普通人一天就能掙到那么多。
In the Middle Ages about one in ten Europeans could read;
在中世紀，十個歐洲人中，大概只有一個人識字；
today, with a few exceptions, the global rate is comfortably above eight out of ten.
今天，除了少數例外，全球的識字人數比例很輕松地達到80%以上。
In much of the world, ordinary men and women can vote and find work, regardless of their race.
在世界大多數地方，不管是什么種族，普通的男女都有了選舉權和工作權。
In large parts of it they can think and say what they choose.
大部分地方的人們有了思想和言論的自由。
If they fall ill, they will be treated.
假如他們病了，就能得到醫治。
If they are innocent, they will generally walk free.
假如他們是清白罪的，他們一般都能行動自由。
