4 ms·

For those that don't read, this is a global population survey, not an American one. If you're American, surprise - you're much more likely to believe work pays

For those that don't read, this is a global population survey, not an American one. If you're American, surprise - you're much more likely to believe work pays off. Won't stop the parade of people with unsubstantiated statements about how much society sucks despite the frankly marvelous QoL advances over the past several hundred years. Also, total sample size is 500. Globally.

thenaturalist 5y ago
Unsubstantiated.... Hm, your comment implies that this parade of people is deliberately ignoring QoL improvements. I think this is not the case. What's important is to remember that everything is relative. For sure QoL has improved significantly. But so has the relative share of wealth of those who already are wealthy. Look at wealth, not income measures and distribution, let alone how much wealth the richest people consistently added. The pace of this growth outpaces wage growth and has done so, for a long time. So where does QoL get you when you realize the system you're engaged in is fundamentally not equitable by design and that a small elite has basically decoupled itself entirely from the rest of the world?
- trnglina 5y ago
  What is the use of wealth, if not to increase one's quality of life?
- sethammons 5y ago
  All the survey said is people have a dim 5-yr outlook. You are reading deeper than that.
mistermann 5y ago
How much more it could have advanced for the masses under a more optimum system though, is unknown. Take war for example: is the amount of war we wage actually necessary? Is there no better way to do things than we currently do, across all domains? If you think of our world as Sim Earth, what would 2021 look like under near perfect play, how far are we off from that, and for what reasons? One reason might be that we don't seem to think and talk about ideas like this very much, or perhaps not in a skillful enough manner.
- Zababa 5y ago
  What is even a perfect play? Do you think all people on Earth would agree with your notion of a perfect play? If not, which opinions are you willing to sacrifice and why?
  - mistermann 5y ago
    I believe that perfect play is approximately that which maximizes aggregate happiness for all of humanity. Opinions will vary of course, because true optimality is unknowable to mere mortals, and how to get there, optimally or not, is probably even more difficult to discern. That said, it is not a binary - I think it's well within our theoretical ability to realize that some things (war, extreme inequality, etc) are sub-optimal, and work to minimize such things over time. I say theoretical because one thing I have noticed is that when one suggests optimistic, common sense ideas of how to improve the world, most people usually disagree/downvote. To me, this unrealized innate default behavior is one of the many things that holds humanity back from achieving greater things. See what I mean? :)

thenaturalist 5y ago

Unsubstantiated.... Hm, your comment implies that this parade of people is deliberately ignoring QoL improvements. I think this is not the case. What's important is to remember that everything is relative. For sure QoL has improved significantly. But so has the relative share of wealth of those who already are wealthy. Look at wealth, not income measures and distribution, let alone how much wealth the richest people consistently added. The pace of this growth outpaces wage growth and has done so, for a long time. So where does QoL get you when you realize the system you're engaged in is fundamentally not equitable by design and that a small elite has basically decoupled itself entirely from the rest of the world?

trnglina 5y ago
What is the use of wealth, if not to increase one's quality of life?
sethammons 5y ago
All the survey said is people have a dim 5-yr outlook. You are reading deeper than that.

mistermann 5y ago

How much more it could have advanced for the masses under a more optimum system though, is unknown. Take war for example: is the amount of war we wage actually necessary? Is there no better way to do things than we currently do, across all domains? If you think of our world as Sim Earth, what would 2021 look like under near perfect play, how far are we off from that, and for what reasons? One reason might be that we don't seem to think and talk about ideas like this very much, or perhaps not in a skillful enough manner.

Zababa 5y ago
What is even a perfect play? Do you think all people on Earth would agree with your notion of a perfect play? If not, which opinions are you willing to sacrifice and why?
- mistermann 5y ago
  I believe that perfect play is approximately that which maximizes aggregate happiness for all of humanity. Opinions will vary of course, because true optimality is unknowable to mere mortals, and how to get there, optimally or not, is probably even more difficult to discern. That said, it is not a binary - I think it's well within our theoretical ability to realize that some things (war, extreme inequality, etc) are sub-optimal, and work to minimize such things over time. I say theoretical because one thing I have noticed is that when one suggests optimistic, common sense ideas of how to improve the world, most people usually disagree/downvote. To me, this unrealized innate default behavior is one of the many things that holds humanity back from achieving greater things. See what I mean? :)