THE ENLIGHTENMENT
Has society improved ?
An interesting debate for your interest. My one or two-sentence summary/evaluation below.
In this debate, I’d say that Pinker had the best of Mearsheimer by a whisker or two. Keep in mind that I’m a great admirer of Mearsheimer’s “realism” approach to foreign affairs and a somewhat skeptical consumer of Pinker’s ideas on things. But in this case, I’d say Pinker prevailed.
Mearsheimer’s concerns might be better expressed with the juxtaposition of the knowledge of the Enlightenment versus wisdom rather, than “morals and politics” v the Enlightenment, as he put it. The point, as I see it, is that while science and technology have advanced light-years in the last 2500 years, human wisdom seems not to have advanced one single iota.
Looks like an intriguing debate. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!
Ken, here is the page on my website that has a selection of Turgot's writings:
https://www.cooperative-individualism.org/authors_t.htm
Scroll down until you find Turgot's listing. The last item is his paper on the distribution of wealth.