There is a common misconception in many parts of the world that society is improving. “Hey, we don’t draw and quarter people in the public square anymore,” goes that common wisdom. “We’ve got central heating and watch on demand.”
Yes, we do. We’ve also got very sophisticated killing machines, and for all our vaunted technological forensic wizardry there are still some disturbingly unanswered questions about 9-11.
I could make a strong case for us not advancing much at all in some fundamental aspects of what it means to be human – especially if we compare ourselves to the first humans described in the folklore of all peoples in earth.
Development of society from misery to relative abundance for all is more than a misconception – it’s wrong in a fundamental sense because we come hard-wired for peace and justice and goodness, and the hows and whys we act against that basic programming deserve more consideration. “We’re good but choose to act bad” is very different from “we’re bad but we’re getting better.”
Why a better society isn’t happening, today on Thinking with Somebody Else’s Head.