The only Frank Lloyd Wright designed house in Oregon

I just posted the word empirical in my Words Seldom Seem thread and three thoughts that had been running around in my head separately suddenly came together. One thought is that we are becoming so much better at producing goods that we have the possibility of entering an era of worldwide prosperity. See The Replicators Dilemma

The second thought is that we have empirical evidence of how to get to prosperity. The only things that have worked are: (and you need them all together) free markets, rule of law, liberal democracy, in the old sense, and a culture that welcomes and rewards innovation. For the counter example see Communism by Richard Pipes

And the third thought is how the the things that liberals (in the new sense) champion will flow from prosperity. Want better immigration policy? Prosperity will help. Want to clean up the oceans? Prosperity will help. Want people to eat healthier? Prosperity will help. See Prosperity Equals Cleanliness