To be honest, 80’s were the prime time. Things went downhill from then. Sure there is progress in medicine and productivity and what not. Just the general state of the world today is worse off than if we were to go back to 80’s with some hindsight on how to run the next 40 years.
For white, affluent, straight Americans, the 80s were probably just fine. For a large number of people who aren't those things, the 80s were hell, though.
The "general state of the world today" is likely to be much better for billions of people than it was in the 80s, however. It's worth keeping that perspective in mind, IMO.
Edit: I've linked one slide deck I think will describe what I'm talking about a bit, but there are certainly more and better sources for this kind of information.
Maybe we can share some sources here as a way to better educate ourselves on this topic?
I see what you’re saying. I’m noticing general trends towards authoritarianism, corruption of public discourse, death of journalism, polarization of politics, rise of conspiracy theories, climate is worse, etc.
If you’re an average Chinese citizen, your life has probably improved dramatically. The auto mechanic down the street is struggling though since newer cars are basically unrepairable.
There are certainly some concerning trends, but you believe things were better in general during the Cold War before the fall of the Soviet Union? When substantially more people globally lived in poverty? When the US was just coming off the civil rights movements of the 60-70s? When AIDS was rampant, but there was no treatment? When global warming was happening, but it wasn’t widely known or acknowledged?
The majority of brand new cars that the average American is buying is still an ICE-powered automobile that’s nearly as serviceable as the old ones, sometimes requiring more advanced diagnostics tools, but far safer and more reliable.
Life in the United States was better for most Americans in the 80's than it is now. That was the beginning of the decoupling of productivity from pay, and it has been ongoing ever since.
That's not the same thing as "basic ability to survive".
When billions of people couldn't buy food and don't have clean water to drink, cries of, "But I'm not maximally benefitting from my own productivity increases!" come across as relatively unimportant.
The phrase that caught my eye was, "the general state of the world today is worse off." I don't think that meshes with observed reality over the past 40 years for the humans living on this planet, if you're not white, affluent, straight and American.
I am happy for the the fact that lot of people have been lifted from poverty.
What I am not happy about is all of us, all 8 billion of us, being able to afford everything we can and hoard useless electronics and plastic doo-dads, waste a ton of resources and live an excessive life. But, "We in the west have it so they should also" is a controversial take on this.
We as Americans waste a lot of resources. That shouldn't be the role model for others.
Totally fair, I just don't want to forget how much we've raised the floor in the last 40 years -- from 44% of all humanity in "absolute poverty" to 9.6% is a huge accomplishment.
Suicide rates are generally higher now, signaling a general dissatisfaction and hopelessness in life.
Sure living standard is higher (but with more inequality), most fields are more advanced now, but what's the true purpose if people feel more depressed and inclined to kill themselves?
This is a pretty first world-centric perspective. There are slightly higher rates of dissatisfaction and hopelessness but quality of life is drastically improving in the second and third world. More efficient production results in better and more stuff even if the stuff isn't distributed perfectly.
I just keep thinking how terrifying the pandemic would be without the Internet for information, entertainment and connection with friends. We are insanely lucky and we do not take time to appreciate it.
