Let’s be honest – 2017 hasn’t been the greatest year so far. At the rate things are going, many are beginning to wonder whether the world is about to take a prolonged turn for the worse.
Brexit and the election of Donald Trump have increased instability, with news media contemplating some truly dark scenarios for the days ahead.
Taken with their usual breathless coverage of the latest terrorist event or mass shooting, it is easy to conclude that something really bad is about to happen.
Before this pessimism leads you down a very dark path, remember this: the media makes its money by amplifying negative stories, as their urgent nature cuts to the core of our primeval brains.
John Bradberry Charlotte NC instead chooses to focus on the progress that we have made over the years. A born optimist, he believes in a future that is mostly bright, despite the serious issues we all face.
If you can’t see how things have gotten better, we’ll make it our mission in this post to show you how our planet has become a better place over the past 30 years, and how it is poised to become better still over the next generation.
1) Peace is winning the battle against war
We might get laughed out the room in some quarters for suggesting this, but it’s true. Cable news viewers are among the biggest dismissers of this premise, as their favorite medium shows them non-stop conflicts, terror attacks, and premonitions of chaos to come.
When you look at actual hard stats, though, the number of hot wars is at an all-time low. Despite the non-stop coverage ISIS has been getting, there have been fewer victims of terror each year since 9/11. At home, violent criminality has been on a constant downward trend since 1990.
Things have been getting better, and by all indications, people around the world are continuing to lay down their arms and choose peace, understanding, and reconciliation over death and destruction.
2) Hunger is becoming less of an issue worldwide
The late 20th century was a dark time, as close to 20% of us couldn’t get enough to eat on a regular basis.
Africa was particularly hard hit by drought at this time, as they were overly dependent on primitive farming techniques that didn’t provide nearly enough food for their exploding population.
Then, something magical happened. From 1990 to 2017, the modernization of food production induced a drop in the number of malnourished people worldwide from 1 billion to 800 million.
With 7 billion humans calling Earth home in 2017, only 11.4% worldwide suffer from malnutrition as we speak.
With continued advances in crop yields and by filling irrigation canals with ever cheaper desalinated water, this number will continue to sink towards zero in the coming decades.
3) Poverty may be eradicated within the next generation
Of all the problems we face in this life, not having the cash to buy basic essentials is among the biggest. Poverty is responsible for a myriad of issues like lowered life expectancy, land pollution, epidemic levels of violent and property crime, and many others.
As such, providing everyone with the food, water, housing, clothing, and education they need has the potential to transform society dramatically for the better.
We have made significant progress on this file over the past 30 years, as only 17% of people around the world languished in abject poverty in 2012.
The next 30 years may see the end of this scourge once and for all. AI (artificial intelligence) and automation will drive down costs to unprecedented lows, while UBI (Universal Basic Income) will provide every citizen with a stipend sufficent enough to cover basic needs.