The above quote, not a fact obviously but an educated guess, was made by Princeton economist Angus Deaton during this week’s excellent EconTalk podcast. Host Russ Roberts and his guest talk about the topics covered in Deaton’s recent book, The Great Escape: Health, Wealth, and the Origins of Inequality: longevity, income disparity and the argument over whether investment in developing nations has made a real difference.

Great little facts about the hidden reasons for why we live longer. Example: In the early part of the 20th century, hotels didn’t change sheets between guests, which helped bacteria to thrive. There’s also discussion about how lifespans continue to grow with a Moore’s Law steadiness despite predictions to the contrary.

What’s left unsaid is that damage to environment or some calamity of disease or meteorite could halt progress in the quantity and quality of life. What are the odds of that? Are we prepared to prevent such doom?•