This is a segment from The Breakdown newsletter. To read full editions, subscribe.

“Despite what we hear on the news… the great story of our era is that we are witnessing the greatest improvement in global living standards ever to take place.”

— John Norberg

As years go, 2025 was a pretty good one, I think.

Derek Thompson goes so far as to say it was “an exceptional year for America,” citing, among other things, huge declines in traffic deaths, drug overdoses and suicides, the largest-ever drop in murder rates, and dramatic advances in healthcare.

“This seems to be the first period on record when every major cause of premature death — overdose, auto…

Read more on Blockworks