>> I used to be something of a populist (not in the "right wing Populism" sense mind), and a big believer in human potential, and thought the future could one

>> I used to be something of a populist (not in the "right wing Populism" sense mind), and a big believer in human potential, and thought the future could one day look something like the Star Trek: TNG world. But with every passing day, I become just a tiny hair more misanthropic and believe that all the future holds is a cyberpunk dystopia, and eventually the heat-death of the universe. > Curious what makes you feel that way about the future? I ask because on countless objective measures, mankind is better off now than at any time in history. "Objective measures" tend to by kind of myopic (e.g. a hyperbolic example: you're politically powerless and don't have healthcare but you're objectively better off because have color TV which not even kings had in the past). They're a data-driven trap that often blind over-analytical people like software engineers. One thing that sucks more now is the greater interconnectedness of society. It's gotten to the point where local connectedness is weakening and withering, preventing people from finding security in a comfortable, agreeable community that's not constantly being buffeted from the outside. That pushes the atomized people into a fearful panic-mode, which increases mistrust and the appeal of conspiracy theories. It's a hard problem to solve because modern-day dogma says more interconnectedness = more better!