Over the past 200 years, humanity has become much more prosperous, educated, healthy, and peaceful. Alexander Hammond will discuss some of the heroes of progress, who saved or improved billions of lives, and the social and economic conditions that made their contributions possible. Whether it’s agronomists whose hybrid crops fed billions of people, intellectuals who changed public policy to allow for greater human flourishing, businesspeople whose innovations raised living standards, or scientists whose medical breakthroughs eliminated diseases, if it weren’t for the heroes who Hammond profiles, we’d all be far poorer, sicker, hungrier, more ignorant, and less free. Clay Routledge will speak of the individual’s role in advancing human progress and the need for a cultural movement that champions a hopeful vision of the future and the underlying psychological traits, attitudes, and aspirations that inspire people to reach their full potential and become agents of progress.

Lunch to follow.