Viewing a single comment thread. View all comments

Desconocido1111 t1_iwg34oq wrote

The world is better now than it has ever been. The world needs to build some self esteem.

20

vorpal_potato t1_iwhvhuy wrote

That's one of the article's three theses. (The others are that it still sucks in a lot of ways, and that we can and should keep on improving it. Not exactly the hottest and spiciest of takes, but boringly reasonable.)

5

intentionalfuture t1_iwgxhwz wrote

True in some ways, not in others. The state of democracy is worse than it was 20 years ago. A lower percentage of people are living in democracies and those democracies are on average less free than they were 20 years ago. Trust in public institutions has been declining almost everywhere since 2008.

Income and wealth inequality between countries decreased, but within countries it has increased almost everywhere.

Global warming is as much an issue as it was 30 years ago. Indeed, we are on track for some the more pessimistic scenarios predicted decades ago. But it's not the worst scenario, so I guess we have that going for us.

But the key issue, which is not addressed by either Mr. Roser's self-congratulatory article or your comment, is whether our current trajectory (or small adjustments to it) are sustainable or not. If anything it is suggesting you can fix the world by just donating to the appropriate charities.

Which reveals the motivation behind all these carefully selected data points. They are meant to legitimize the current power structures, thereby ensuring that the negative trends we are seeing will continue.

4

New_Parsley6211 t1_iwhawix wrote

“Better” is very loose and generous, only because we have modern technology. All it means is more people can stay alive and placated to endure servitude under the merging, universal corporate despotism. And that’s not fear-monger. Rampant greed is being traced and associated to the ongoing, record high inflation rate. Gas, pollution and micro plastics is currently ravaging global climate and environments.

To say “everything is better now” is relevant only in comparison to the past. The stakes and threats currently, right now, is higher and more dangerous than anything humanity has experienced in the past.

“Everything is better now.” Everything is more volatile and dangerous now than it ever has been.

3

Test19s t1_iwhfpng wrote

Is it really better than 2019? Pre-COVID and pre-War?

2

Desconocido1111 t1_iwihfzt wrote

What war? This conflict in Ukraine is not the fight of anyone other than Russia and Ukraine.

1

Test19s t1_iwihmjs wrote

The war worsened inflation by interrupting energy, grain, and critical element trade involving Russia and Ukraine.

2

Desconocido1111 t1_iwijp4h wrote

This is not the worst situation to ever take place. There were two major continental conflicts which took place in Africa during the 90’s and 2000’s. The wide ranging impact of these conflicts is largely ignored.

Our world is not an easy place to live. Just because there is a war in the (marginal) west, please don’t think that this is the worst conflict that has happened in recent times.

The world is currently not a better place than 2019, and will take some time to recover from the mismanaging of the COVID pandemic in the US and in Europe. Similar to how it took time to recover after WW1 and WW2.

1

No-Community-7210 t1_iwgmif4 wrote

Wtf are you on about, this world is a dystopia on the verge of apocalypse.

−2

Josvan135 t1_iwjysa8 wrote

>the verge of apocalypse

Actually, by most scientific measures we've dodged apocalyptic climate change pretty handily at this point.

Assuming nothing much changes on our current trajectory (i.e. The current market supported pace of renewable adoption and other pricing/security induced energy changes) the world will warm somewhere between 1.7-1.9 degrees Celsius.

That will lead to greater instability in weather patterns, more extreme weather events, etc, but Human society will persist without major global scale collapse, and much of the world will experience only mild to moderate disruptions.

>this world is a dystopia

How do you classify a dystopia and what are you comparing it to?

By every measure we've ever conceived of, the world today is richer, healthier, better fed, better educated, more democratic, more equal, and generally better off than at literally any other time in human history.

3

bogglingsnog t1_iwjlt3u wrote

People only think that when all they consume is crappy American news, its mostly mental junk food that feeds on your fears.

2

No-Community-7210 t1_iwjsh6x wrote

No im pretty sure U.N reports, among a countless other trusted sources, paint a much bleaker picture of what objective reality is like than the trash american news.

0