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You know, I think the "Woe is us" crowd gets a little tedious. In truth, the impulse to talk about the wretchedness of the human race is nothing new.
Do you want to know when it was to live in bad times? Try reading up on the 14th Century, a calamity by any conceivable measure. Constant warfare, the Black Plague that wiped out roughly a third of humanity, schisms, the rising of the surviving working class to demand better wages, famine, and a host of other ills. Now that was a time that propelled a lot of End Is Near discussion. Or the collapse of the Roman Empire if you lived in the Fifth Century.
Today?
We are witnessing the global erasure of poverty. In a scant 25 years, we've seen extreme global poverty plunge from an estimated 45% of the global population to less than 10%. Famine is nonexistent except in countries where it is an instrument of political oppression or a weapon of war. Every single day, we learn of new and amazing discoveries in science in the fight against diseases, the understanding of our universe, you name it. We are within a generation's time of permanently colonizing space.
At this point, more than any time in human history, self-determination has become a human right. The old chains of racism, sexism, and a host of other prejudices are being broken before our very eyes. We are more literate and more connected that at any other time in the species' existence. Your chances of dying in a war or in the commission of a crime are minuscule compared to a scant century ago, let alone a millennium. So if you think things are worse today than they were in some golden age of history, then you don't know history very well at all.
Lest you think I'm some Pollyanna, there remain problems to be solved. The environment. The continued fight for individual rights and prosperity. Making sure the North Koreans, et al, don't do something crazy. But given that a very large proportion of the human race rolls out of bed every morning having a purpose and knowing where its next meal is coming from remains a staggering collective achievement. Even the issue of overpopulation is showing signs of easing, with world population projected to peak in 2050 and begin to drop once again. Throughout the developed world, including countries such as Brazil and India, the fertility rate is either at or below replacement rate now. Not because of medical issues, but because people are choosing to have fewer children. That's because you no longer need eight children to help run the family farm or to ensure a few survive to adulthood to nurture you in old age.
Just as importantly, the achievements we're seeing just open up an array of new horizons for us in the future.
So excuse me if I laugh at those who feel our best days are behind us. Because, just like their pessimistic forebears down through the ages, they will be once again proved wrong.
Moving forward through the ages, even as recent as the 1990's, there have global "near misses" with pandemics. We are a mere mutation away from another globe killer flu strain. I don't believe in a pessimistic view of the world, I try to make the best of my small insignificant life, but as we progress, we also leave ourselves open to more and deadlier diseases, notice how ebola has taken off recently (it was first discovered in the 1960's)?
I agree that war, terrorism, religion, and corporate greed have been around since we mutated from our monkey ancestors, nothing has changed there, but I would argue that with progress, we bring a whole new form of agony upon ourselves.
Moving forward through the ages, even as recent as the 1990's, there have global "near misses" with pandemics. We are a mere mutation away from another globe killer flu strain. I don't believe in a pessimistic view of the world, I try to make the best of my small insignificant life, but as we progress, we also leave ourselves open to more and deadlier diseases, notice how ebola has taken off recently (it was first discovered in the 1960's)?
I agree that war, terrorism, religion, and corporate greed have been around since we mutated from our monkey ancestors, nothing has changed there, but I would argue that with progress, we bring a whole new form of agony upon ourselves.
No one ever said change and progress wasn't painless. Progress comes with unintended consequences but change is inevitable and I'd rather look at the positives and manage the negatives.
The world has never been better honestly. We've moved far more people out of poverty ever in human history. Almost the entire world is literate in some way. Less and less people are dying of starvation. This certainly wasn't the case, say 50 years ago. And while still have the "haves and have nots", far more people are better off financially and have a better standard of living than they ever could have dreamed of like 100 years ago. I just think people toss on their nostalgia goggles and automatically assume "past is better". That's so pervasive these days, you have to wonder where it comes from. I see it at a smaller level in the gaming world as well
Humanity has seen some very bad days, long before this. All the wars, crime, immorality. All I can say is this. Technology has progressed by leaps and bounds. If I have the money, I can travel from Atlanta to London in a matter of hours. However, as far as humans go, well, same as it ever was.
The world has never been better honestly. We've moved far more people out of poverty ever in human history. Almost the entire world is literate in some way. Less and less people are dying of starvation. This certainly wasn't the case, say 50 years ago. And while still have the "haves and have nots", far more people are better off financially and have a better standard of living than they ever could have dreamed of like 100 years ago. I just think people toss on their nostalgia goggles and automatically assume "past is better". That's so pervasive these days, you have to wonder where it comes from. I see it at a smaller level in the gaming world as well
I don't think we are worse off than before. We just hear about the worst stuff much more. It is much more common to hear about how bad things are in the human race. As news travels faster, so does bad news.
The world has never been better honestly. We've moved far more people out of poverty ever in human history. Almost the entire world is literate in some way. Less and less people are dying of starvation. This certainly wasn't the case, say 50 years ago. And while still have the "haves and have nots", far more people are better off financially and have a better standard of living than they ever could have dreamed of like 100 years ago. I just think people toss on their nostalgia goggles and automatically assume "past is better". That's so pervasive these days, you have to wonder where it comes from. I see it at a smaller level in the gaming world as well
We are also taller than we were 200 years ago, much more overweight, and less manually skilled. We have our own challenges ahead of us that people in the 1800's could never have dreamed. Life was simpler, but harder. As life gets easier to live, expect more complications from such mutations. It's nature's way of keeping us all in check I feel. Progress=Regress. Ebb and flow.
To answer the question of the thread title: Context matters.
I'm among the eldest of Millennials. There are certain skill sets, traditionally imparted on an intergenerational basis, that are increasingly going by the wayside. My father and grandfather's generations were adamant about some degree of self-sufficiency and instilled unto me skills ranging from carpentry and electrical to agriculture and survival. In contrast, many, if not [most] of my friends and acquaintances cannot reliably construct a birdhouse, start a fire via primitive means, maintain a garden, skin a deer, install a new outlet, change a tire/oil, or even shut off the water to all (or select portions) of their home.
Because of my age, exposure, and interest in modern technology, I am also either acquainted with or proficient in a variety of contemporary expertise and have the ability to grasp the advantages that current and future discoveries may grant to humankind.
The importance of both of the aforementioned cannot be understated, in my opinion, as this is the way in which progress truly ought to function. What works isn't discarded, it's merely built upon, as evidenced (for example) by our understanding of Newton and later Einstein.
We are also taller than we were 200 years ago, much more overweight, and less manually skilled. We have our own challenges ahead of us that people in the 1800's could never have dreamed. Life was simpler, but harder. As life gets easier to live, expect more complications from such mutations. It's nature's way of keeping us all in check I feel. Progress=Regress. Ebb and flow.
Living was simpler and harder in the past, though harder in a way that was more natural and less unhealthy. If life gets easier to live but with more complications, it could be a wash overall. If so, will it mean progress?
Living was simpler and harder in the past, though harder in a way that was more natural and less unhealthy. If life gets easier to live but with more complications, it could be a wash overall. If so, will it mean progress?
I don't think so, I don't personally see us a progressing. I remember my farmer grandparents, my grandmother killing chickens without the use of a tool, my grandfather building a church without blueprints. Today, I would say that most young adults can't start a fire, pitch a tent, bake a loaf of bread, or change the oil in their cars.
Technology is wonderous, but it can also be such a crutch. I can see a teenager lost in the woods trying to google how to start a fire and not being able to find a good signal...
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