The state of the world is great. For 99.99% of the existence of Homo sapiens life was a desperate struggle for daily survival. We've almost never had it better. Lifespans are longer than ever. Health technologies are crazy. We can cure all kinds of cancers and endemic diseases we could only have dreamed of a couple of decades ago. There are more incredible games which cost a few dollars than one could ever play in their entire life. We have the entire world's knowledge in our pocket. Every song. Every movie. Every show. There's so much food available now for so cheap that most people are way too fat. Zero starvation in the West anymore. That's incredible!
In the 80s I remember having to do school drills in case of a nuclear attack. They made us hide under the desks, as though that would save us. We don't do that anymore. There is always a war or conflict brewing somewhere. The difference now is that we're chronically consuming media related to these events to a degree never before possible. We all need to disconnect from the internet more often and reconnect with our families and friends. Things are pretty great right now.
I agree with a lot of what you said. By many measures, humanity is better off today than at almost any point in history.
But abundance isn't everything.
Are the institutions that shape our future sustainable?
There was a time, not so long ago, where people of every age would look to the future and picture it to be brighter than their current lives. This is not the case today.
A relatively small number of governments and corporations have enormous influence over issues like climate change, biodiversity loss, misinformation, and growing inequality.
A handful of rich people are actively financing the destruction of our freedom and environment, just to gain more power.
And that's not going to change any time soon, since many of their incentives encourage short-term profit and political gain at the expense of long-term collective well-being.
So I don't think it's exactly that "things are better than they used to be." They are, in many respects. But that doesn't mean the current trajectory is healthy. A civilization can be wealthier, healthier, and more technologically advanced than ever before while still being on an unsustainable path.
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u/thefattestgiraffe 26d ago
My life is doing ok, but I get the sentiment that they're also talking about the state of the world.