> That is why the world has been tending towards the negative for soooo long.
All evidence I've seen in the world is tending better. There are, and always have been concerning signs, but overall things have been getting better. But everyone places more emphasis on the concerning signs and doesn't really think of all the things that have gotten better.
Living standards have improved, but at vast cost the environment, and we show no signs of addressing this.
The amount of energy we spend on irrelevant stuff like the stock market & AI should instead be directed toward dealing with climate change, and not turning our oceans into lifeless garbage dumps. But our economical model can only handle things that make more money for rich people, so we won't.
The stock market is a good idea. Without it you wouldn't have most things you think are a good idea, nor probably half the things you think are a scandal because not everyone has them.
> But our economical model can only handle things that make more money for rich people, so we won't.
I think that might depend on how far you look to compare. Like 1700s to now, yeah we're better by any metric you can think of. But on a smaller scale there are some things tending down.
Even compared to the 1970s we are much better off. The ozone hole is in track. Lead has been removed from nearly everything. Nearly everyone has a cell phone. Much less world hunger.
In various ways, I completely agree with you, but there is a different level of negativity that is happening that is about the levers of power and wealth and what they are doing to the poor and the planet, itself. When a billionaire or government corruptly uses their power to press down on the populace for the gain of the wealthy, the effects are much more deleterious than the gains of we peasants, for example, learning how to no longer be racist or trans- or homophobic.
Those "small" gains are absolutely important, and are essential for our next societal level-up, but the corruption-in-the-large is an order-of-magnitude (or two) more physically destructive. I mean, look how many fools look up to Elmo and his cohort of kleptocrats. And look how the fossil-fuel industry buried the truth of global heating.
That's why I believe that RATM's self-titled debut album is the most important album of the 20th Century. And while I understand rage to be purely destructive, I firmly believe there's a time for righteous anger, especially in the face of oppression and wanton destruction.
All evidence I've seen in the world is tending better. There are, and always have been concerning signs, but overall things have been getting better. But everyone places more emphasis on the concerning signs and doesn't really think of all the things that have gotten better.