"By most measures, there has never been a better time in history to inhabit our planet. A growing body of evidence points to dramatic improvements in human well-being. These improvements are especially striking in the developing world.
"Meticulously created and managed, HumanProgress.org is a new, free, innovative website that steadily follows and documents the forward march of human progress. This new site closes the gap between the often pessimistic public perception and a more optimistic reality, and is a comprehensive new research tool that provides data in an easily accessible manner, enabling users to:
Find out more at humanprogress.org
Call me cynical. All of this is true and definitely physical progress. Mentally, the trend seems to be more animalistic. Reason as the basic necessity is becoming a rarity instead of being the basis for human life.
Spot on Octegenarian!
I don’t know what the Cato Institute is thinking?? At last count worldwide there were over 40 wars and insurrections going on and terrorism has become a way of life.. The economic gap between rich and poor is growing as never before.. Democracy is giving way to authoritarian rule where ever you turn..
In the United States, one out of seven today are on food stamps and fifty percents of its citizens are recipients of government monthly payments and handouts.. Crime is rampant everywhere as justice is lacking.. The economy has settled into an extended period higher unemployment and stagflation.. Government is not for and about the people but for the government itself.. With its $17 trillion deficit and $129 trillion in unfunded liabilities the United States looks the walking dead.. The country finds itself in a bottomless debt pit that can only lead to economic depression.. Like so many other countries including the Bahamas, the United States lacks meaningful leadership which can only lead to further declines as political lies have replaced truth at every turn in the road.. It has become a nation of criminal-like conspiracies where the only answer is “what difference does it make”.. Are the American people as a whole better off today than they were six years ago?? You be the judge..
If this is human improvement and progress than so be it.. But thirty years ago the world seemed to be a far better place, where hope for mankind replaced human discouragement.. Back then the future seemed bright as the information age was upon us and the hope for international peace and human prosperity filled the hearts of World humanity.. Today we are in a different kind of World where human despair has replaced hope, where the World economy is on the edge of failure and governments around the World have become more oppressive and authoritarian.. If humanity is improving, than like Octogenarian and the experience of time, I am a cynic too.
Drill down through the data Tradewinds. The improvement in so many areas is undeniable.
However, fiscal policy by the political class will always cause bubbles and crashes affecting the taxpayers pocketbook, which is a different matter, and you seem to be addressing that aspect?
Man is first and foremost a political animal and this cannot be divorced from his human nature.. Human progress to some many be human failure to others.. Statistical graphs are informative but if you mistakenly view a graph upside down, you are likely to get the opposite impression that was intended.. In this world quantity is only as good as its underlying quality.. The measurement of human progress in terms of quantity is meaningless without a corresponding increase in quality which is the true measure of human achievement..
Agreed, but subject to the source, and I trust this one.
There is no argument with the source which is a highly respected institution.. But to say that the state of humanity is improving fast is a questionable overstatement.. That is my only point and can be backed by many highly creditable sources.. Again it is not the quantity but the quality of human existence that really counts..
In the Philippines, the increased calorie count is a positive indicator of increased health and nutrition. Yet, today there are nearly 10 million Filipinos mostly children close to starvation.. This is about ten percent of the nation’s population and it seems to have been going on almost forever.. Although the increased calorie count could be pointed to as human progress, the increased starvation is a more pertinent indicator of human failures..
Yes, there are issues as you suggest, but over all there has been an undeniable improvement in so many areas.
Is it perfect? Of course not. And we still have a long was to go.