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The 70's were seen as stable because no American's knew anything about what was happening worldwide. Being connected to pretty much any human on the planet is a

The 70's were seen as stable because no American's knew anything about what was happening worldwide. Being connected to pretty much any human on the planet is a really new concept, what we call our "community" has grown exponentially in size, distance, and diversity in the last decade. The world has always been this scary, now we're just paying attention.

Bartweiss 10y ago
> The world has always been this scary, now we're just paying attention. I see this a lot, and I'm never convinced. Something like the "flash crash" was impossible a decade ago, much less a century. I wouldn't claim that the world has gotten worse, but the capacity for rapid, unpredictable change has never been higher.
- TeMPOraL 10y ago
  Yeah, I think there are two factors at play here. One is definitely the near-realtime worldwide media coverage. But the other is the fact that the same events you hear about living on the other side of the world can affect your life almost as fast as the news spread. If you had just the media of today in a world of 500 years ago, you'd worry only about your nearest neighbour cities and countries. Today, living in Europe, I hear that bankers in the US fucked something up again big time, and I start to wonder if I'll have my job - or any food - next week. That's how the global economy is interconnected. I also worry I may one day wake up and find my city in flames, with the Marines giving us practical workshops on how to run a democracy right. (And to not single out US here - I was scared shitless when the whole Russia/Ukraine thing started, because I was afraid my country will be next, and "next" here means "at any time, under 24 hours from when someone makes a decision".)
Spooky23 10y ago
Nobody living through the 70s thought it was stable. It was the end of the postwar boom. High inflation, high uncertainty. 15% mortgages with 20% down as a minimum. Cities collapsing after the white flight. Big industries transforming. Anyone claiming it was a happy go lucky happy time frankly doesn't know what they are talking about.
dragonwriter 10y ago
> The 70's were seen as stable No, they weren't. Though much of what you say about the 70s might be accurate of much of the 80s in the US.

Bartweiss 10y ago

> The world has always been this scary, now we're just paying attention. I see this a lot, and I'm never convinced. Something like the "flash crash" was impossible a decade ago, much less a century. I wouldn't claim that the world has gotten worse, but the capacity for rapid, unpredictable change has never been higher.

TeMPOraL 10y ago
Yeah, I think there are two factors at play here. One is definitely the near-realtime worldwide media coverage. But the other is the fact that the same events you hear about living on the other side of the world can affect your life almost as fast as the news spread. If you had just the media of today in a world of 500 years ago, you'd worry only about your nearest neighbour cities and countries. Today, living in Europe, I hear that bankers in the US fucked something up again big time, and I start to wonder if I'll have my job - or any food - next week. That's how the global economy is interconnected. I also worry I may one day wake up and find my city in flames, with the Marines giving us practical workshops on how to run a democracy right. (And to not single out US here - I was scared shitless when the whole Russia/Ukraine thing started, because I was afraid my country will be next, and "next" here means "at any time, under 24 hours from when someone makes a decision".)

Spooky23 10y ago

Nobody living through the 70s thought it was stable. It was the end of the postwar boom. High inflation, high uncertainty. 15% mortgages with 20% down as a minimum. Cities collapsing after the white flight. Big industries transforming. Anyone claiming it was a happy go lucky happy time frankly doesn't know what they are talking about.

dragonwriter 10y ago

> The 70's were seen as stable No, they weren't. Though much of what you say about the 70s might be accurate of much of the 80s in the US.