Most people look at me like I’m crazy when I tell them that there is not a single measure of social progress that has declined within our lifetimes. We are healthier, wealthier, smarter, better fed, and safer than any time in human history. We live in a time when obesity is a more serious threat than hunger. Income inequality is a bigger problem than absolute income. Death and injury rates from war have declined to levels never seen in recorded human history. Access to food, water, shelter, education (and information in general), have never been better. World poverty has plummeted. Violence is down 80% from 50 years ago. Our children are smarter, better educated, and healthier than any time in the history of civilization. Governments are in financial crisis because people are living too long, not because they are dying of Ebola. We still have millions of people at risk from war, poverty, disease, and hunger, but we are on the right track to ending these problems. We can do better, but only if we learn not only from we’ve done wrong, but also by what we’ve done right. Believing the crazy idea that the world is entering the Dark Ages sets us up to buy into ideologies and mistaken solutions that are more dangerous than the problems that they claim to solve. 2014 was a better year than any year in human history. We should feel blessed that we were alive to witness it. Nothing is irreversible. And there will be a great many people for whom life is tough, and looks set to remain so for some time. We still have a lamentably long list of problems to solve. But in the round, there’s no denying it: we are living in the Golden Era. There has never been a better reason for people the world over to wish each other a happy and prosperous new year. telegraph.co.uk/history/11310456/Goodbye-to-one-of-the-best-years-in-history.html
Posted on: Tue, 30 Dec 2014 14:00:35 +0000
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