I don’t see it much here on Mastodon, but corporate media *loves* articles and news reports about how much better off we are today than our ancestors were.

I don’t see it much here on Mastodon, but corporate media *loves* articles and news reports about how much better off we are today than our ancestors were.

Sarah Miller (@sarahmiller_22747) has something to say about that…
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Globalized capitalism may be destroying the world, but it has a great PR department. It’s astounding how many people still accept Steven Pinker’s distorted claim that everything has gotten better under capitalism — or since the enlightenment, as he prefers to put it. People live longer, fight less, know more, are happier. You name it, it’s better, says Pinker and his ilk.

What makes life now inarguably better? Having a cell phone and being able to answer questions with a Google search? Having more groovy gadgets? Going to McDonald’s?

It’s true that life expectancy has doubled in the US since the 1880s. But that was thanks mainly to cleaner water and better sewage systems, and then to antibiotics, vaccines, and perhaps blood pressure reducers. Most of that had worked its magic by 1960 and resulted from government-sponsored programs. Since then, life expectancy gains first slowed and have now gone into reverse.

If things have indisputably gotten better over the last 70–100 years, how come we’re all ready to vote out practically anybody who’s in power? How come life expectancy is falling again in the US? There’s a war in Europe? We’re looking for escapes from reality everywhere from sports to meditation? Globalization is collapsing?
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FULL ESSAY -- https://medium.com/@sarahmiller_22747/the-ridiculous-everythings-gotten-better-guys-144ce2d6c19c

#History #Economics #Environment #Climate #ClimateChange #Capitalism