4 ms·

If in the developed world most policies now are based on the premise that the future is bleak (climate change, war, deficits, ...) then it comes as no surprise

If in the developed world most policies now are based on the premise that the future is bleak (climate change, war, deficits, ...) then it comes as no surprise that actual progress isn't high on anyone's agenda. Until the future is seen as a land of opportunity again, things will remain bleak.

beambot 3y ago
Curious - many people do see those "problems" as the "opportunity" of our time, just as past generations had their own bleaknesses to overcome.
- RandomLensman 3y ago
  If you compare, for example, the 1960s view of future with the current - quite a difference. A lot now is about costs to bear and then eventually it might get better. Are there business opportunities in the problems - for sure, but that isn't quite the same as a general bright outlook on the future.
  - mandmandam 3y ago
    Our future was robbed between the 1960s and now. Crazy great things have happened - usually thanks to the best of us. But the worst of us have been pulling the same mega-destructive stunts for decades, and they keep getting away with it. There are good reasons to have optimism, but like... We were violently mugged, and are bleeding. We need to do something about all that before worrying that our outlook isn't rosy enough.
    - RandomLensman 3y ago
      Nothing was robbed or destroyed - not sure why you adopt that defeatist attitude. The future could probably be all yours.
      - mandmandam 3y ago
        The anthropocene extinction, the insect apocalypse, ocean acidification, topsoil destruction, the pollution of 99% of wells and rivers.... Do I really need to go on? Yes, we were mugged. Yes, it was violent, and yes, we are bleeding. There is a fossil fuel and plastic industry rep right over there, with a smoking gun, saying we all need to do our part to recycle with a smirk on their face.
        RandomLensman 3y ago
        if you believe in the world ending, sure.
        mandmandam 3y ago
        Huh? The anthropocene extinction and the insect apocalypse aren't matters of belief.

beambot 3y ago

Curious - many people do see those "problems" as the "opportunity" of our time, just as past generations had their own bleaknesses to overcome.

RandomLensman 3y ago
If you compare, for example, the 1960s view of future with the current - quite a difference. A lot now is about costs to bear and then eventually it might get better. Are there business opportunities in the problems - for sure, but that isn't quite the same as a general bright outlook on the future.
- mandmandam 3y ago
  Our future was robbed between the 1960s and now. Crazy great things have happened - usually thanks to the best of us. But the worst of us have been pulling the same mega-destructive stunts for decades, and they keep getting away with it. There are good reasons to have optimism, but like... We were violently mugged, and are bleeding. We need to do something about all that before worrying that our outlook isn't rosy enough.
  - RandomLensman 3y ago
    Nothing was robbed or destroyed - not sure why you adopt that defeatist attitude. The future could probably be all yours.
    - mandmandam 3y ago
      The anthropocene extinction, the insect apocalypse, ocean acidification, topsoil destruction, the pollution of 99% of wells and rivers.... Do I really need to go on? Yes, we were mugged. Yes, it was violent, and yes, we are bleeding. There is a fossil fuel and plastic industry rep right over there, with a smoking gun, saying we all need to do our part to recycle with a smirk on their face.
      - RandomLensman 3y ago
        if you believe in the world ending, sure.
        mandmandam 3y ago
        Huh? The anthropocene extinction and the insect apocalypse aren't matters of belief.