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This article seams to propose that morality and civility improve linearly forever when in fact it's more like the stock market with frequent crashes and long pe
by ArcticCelt 16y ago
This article seams to propose that morality and civility improve linearly forever when in fact it's more like the stock market with frequent crashes and long periods of decline. I am maybe a pessimist but I think that modern society is near the peak of what we can achieve.
I personally think that it's not enough but I am the minority and my fellow citizens will simply vote against people who share my ideals. There is too many people hardwired to be assholes. Maybe if we start tweaking our brains (what could possibly go wrong) we could reach new milestones but otherwise I am not holding my breath.
- run4yourlives 16y agoAgreed. It seems very likely that we are living as Romans did in 340: On the verge of collapse. Not that this is a bad thing. In many ways, a return to a simpler time and a more virtual connectedness might actually be a huge step forward in the grand scheme of things.
- loewenskind 16y agoMove to another country. The US has set up a perfect storm of a shockingly awful school system, dumbed down media from every angle, emotion in politics causing people to frame every discussion as "my side = save the US" vs. "their side = destroy it", etc. creating a large group of people who just can't be reasoned with.
- a-priori 16y agoWhile I agree these are all concerns, I am skeptical that this is a modern phenomenon. Were people a generation or two ago really less emotional, or less prone to black-and-white thinking?
- loewenskind 16y agoI think they were probably the same they just didn't spend as much time thinking (for lack of a better word) about this stuff. It wasn't that long ago that there was only 15 minutes of news a day on the TV. People were thinking about it less because they didn't have the option to plug into political hacks spewing nonsense literally 24/7.