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… is from page 630 of the final (2016) volume – Bourgeois Equality [2] – of Deirdre McCloskey [3]‘s brilliant trilogy on the essence of bourgeois values, on their transmission, and on their essential role in modern life:
Pessimism on the basis of the most alarming of today’s trends is jolly good fun, I know. But since 1800 it has been a poor predictor.