The Optimist
List of The Optimist articles
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Shutterstock We’re All the 1 Percent
The U.S. middle class is still incredibly wealthy by international standards.
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Mario Tama/Getty Images The Trojan Paradox
If religious conservatives want to put a stop to abortions, there's no better tool than making contraception a lot more available. And there's a world of good it'll do.
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Greg Williams/Eon Productions via Getty Images There Will Not Be Blood
Across the world, crime is down -- and in a big way. Are violent movies to thank for less real blood and gore?
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MIKE CLARKE/AFP/Getty Images Outsource Your Kid
Trying to save money on a university and still get a good education? Forget the local community college -- send your kid to school overseas.
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Lunae Parracho/AFP/Getty Images Forest Bump
The global economic crisis is good news for trees, but how can we make sure the gains keep coming?
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ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP/Getty Images The Eradication Calculation
Does it really make sense to spend billions of dollars to wipe out the few remaining cases of polio?
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THONY BELIZAIRE/AFP/Getty Images The Haitian Migration
Want to help the hundreds of thousands of Haitians still suffering from the 2010 earthquake? Let some of them into the United States.
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Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images Paving Paradise
A little more concrete could save the world. Really.
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ADEK BERRY/AFP/Getty Images Naughty or Nice?
Are there more deserving boys and girls this year than in the past?
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Kaveh Kazemi/Getty Images Change Afghanistan Can Believe In
10 years later, life isn't just better -- it's much better.
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INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images Trickle-Down Economics
There’s a free-market solution to the world’s water crisis. Make people pay by the drop.
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STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP/Getty Images Doing More with Less
Dwindling funding for the global fight against AIDS doesn't mean the battle is lost -- but it does mean we have to think about what we're getting for our money.
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CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images Counting Our Blessings
From Twitter to vegetarianism, 10 things to celebrate this Thanksgiving.
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Spencer Platt/Getty Images The Accidental Capitalists
Occupy Wall Street's threat of class war could be good for everyone -- rich and poor alike.
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OTTO BAKANO/AFP/Getty Images Making Lemon-aid
Republican politicians in the United States are hellbent on axing international development assistance. But Congress's budget-cutting mania might actually improve it in other ways.
