With the advent of instantaneous, ubiquitous, global mass communication, the world seems to have gotten much smaller yet much more incomprehensible. Because we can find out what’s going on anywhere in the world, at any time, from a myriad of online sources, and because, for whatever reason, bad news draws our attention (“if it bleeds, it leads” is not a myth), it can seem like we’re all on the brink of disaster 24/7/365. (And let’s face it, there are a lot of people and institutions whose very existence relies on us maintaining a constant state of near-panic.)
But, occasionally, it’s a good idea to pull away from the blizzard of negative images to gain a little perspective. By almost every measure conceivable, we are at the pinnacle of human existence right now, and the arrow is pointing inexorably up. Here are a few examples from our cheerful friends at HumanProgress.org.
Consider the global changes that have occurred in the world just since the end of World War II:
- In 1950, the average life expectancy at birth was only 48.5 years. In 2019, it was 72.8 years. That’s an increase of 50 percent.
- Out of every 1,000 live births in 1950, 20.6 children died before their fifth birthday. That number was only 2.7 in 2019. That’s a reduction of 87 percent.
- Between 1950 and 2018, the average income per person rose from $3,296 to $15,138. That’s an inflation adjusted increase of 359 percent.
- Between 1961 and 2013, the average food supply per person per day rose from 2,191 calorie to 2,885 calories. That’s an increase of 31.7 percent.
- In 1950, the length of schooling that a person could typically expect to receive was 2.59 years. In 2017, it was 8 years. That’s a 209 percent increase.
- The world’s democratic score rose from an average of 5.31 out of 10 in 1950 to an average of 7.21 out of 10 in 2017. That’s a 35.8 percent increase.
We’re (understandably) unhappy about skyrocketing food costs, right? Consider:
- In 15th century England, 80% of income was spent on food.
- Of that amount, 20% was spent on bread alone.
Imagine spending 80% of your family income on bread!
But we have to work ever-harder to make ends meet, much less enjoy “the good life,” right? Welp:
- In 1830, the workweek in the industrializing West averaged about 70 hours or, Sundays excluded, 11.6 hours of work per day.
- Today, people in advanced societies work less than 40 hours per week. That still amounts to roughly 8 hours per day, but only because workers typically don’t work on Saturdays. If we wanted to give up our Saturdays, we’d average less than 6.6 hours per day.
- And this while individual wealth has skyrocketed. Since 1050, GDP per person in high income countries rose from $9,251 to $47,149 (in 2016 dollars), or 410 percent.
We could go on and on, but the point is that, despite the gloom and doom, we live in the safest, most prosperous time in human history. And if you believe the cheerful band at HumanProgress, we ain’t seen nuthin’ yet.
