I usually take statistics to heart, but I do not believe that is the whole picture! I judge how I find the climate of the people around me. If people are having to shield themselves from the suffering happening around the globe, because it leaves them with a kind of worry...how is that making people happier? I am not a believer!

Pinker is probably right about the trend up to now. Things have been getting better over all. But they are about to get a hell of a lot worse. Global warming + feedback loops + ocean acidification + overpopulation = mass extinction.

Regardless of one impression on world view, we have only one life to live. How do we make the most out of it, that is a personal choice. I am not even saying what my personal view is, that's not even relevant.

If he doesn't mention things like Fukushima, I would think he's using a somewhat myopic template. Our company's "miracle workers" (efficiency experts)`liked to say, "If it can't be quantified, it can't be measured," which in some respects seems a bit of a tautology.