> I think there is an overwhelming preponderance of evidence that if the starting point is some society and it changes to be more free, the outcome is more weal

> I think there is an overwhelming preponderance of evidence that if the starting point is some society and it changes to be more free, the outcome is more wealth and comfort. On issues of political economy, I always like to reverse the arrow of causality to see if that could also be an explanation. Is it increased wealth, or economic power, that leads to more freedom? I think there's a line of thinking that the US civil rights movement was caused by blacks becoming more economically important, thought I'm not familiar with the evidence. Likewise you could argue that UK industrial growth preceded women's right to vote, and various other freedom related things that happened. Of course it could also be a virtuous circle, they both cause each other, and sometimes one or the other is ignited by some other thing.