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People spend too much time staring into their phones, consuming simple carbohydrates, and being sedentary. The world is better than it's ever been. We just don'

People spend too much time staring into their phones, consuming simple carbohydrates, and being sedentary. The world is better than it's ever been. We just don't take good care of ourselves.

maxwell 3y ago
What are you talking about? Peace in Europe is shattered. The former President of the United States has been indicted multiple times on dozens of felony charges. R&D on the killer bipedal robots + assassination drones + AI from your favorite sci-fi movies is nearing completion. Full Nineteen Eighty-Four-style surveillance totalitarianism has been rolled out in occupied China and is at the pilot stage in most western countries. According to the SlaveVoyages project, almost 13 million people were captured and sold as slaves between the 15th and 19th centuries: https://www.slavevoyages.org/assessment/estimates https://www.slavevoyages.org/assessment/estimates Today, 50 million people live in slavery, according to the Walk Free Foundation: https://www.walkfree.org/global-slavery-index/findings/global-findings https://www.walkfree.org/global-slavery-index/findings/globa... Are they spending "too much time staring into their phones, consuming simple carbohydrates, and being sedentary"? The "world is better than it's ever been" for those 50 million slaves? They're just not taking "good care" of themselves? Can you find any chocolate bars that aren't made from cocoa beans harvested by child slaves in west Africa? (Only ones I've found: https://manoachocolate.com https://manoachocolate.com) Are you saying U.S. police officers extrajudicially executing more Americans in 2019 than mass shooters murdered is "better than it's ever been"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_killings_by_law_enforcement_officers_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_killings_by_law_enfor... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_United_States_in_2019 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_... The Bank of England reporting that real wage growth in the 2010s was back to the slowest since the 19th century, and Britons just need to "take good care of" themselves? https://web.archive.org/web/20161206225850/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/speeches/2016/speech946.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20161206225850/http://www.bankof... What's better than it's ever been? TV dramas?
- rednerrus 3y ago
  I could address each of these points and show how you've taken a narrow, specific stance to focus on the negative things in the world. I could point to hundreds of instances that show your view doesn't accurately represent the current state of the world or accurately place it in the context of history. It doesn't accurately account for the scale of historic cruelty, violence, famine, war, oppression, etc. Steven Pinker wrote a whole book dedicated to the topic and I've asked ChatGPT to give us the Clifs Notes: Historical Rates of Homicide: Using historical records, Pinker demonstrates that the rates of homicide in prehistoric tribes and ancient civilizations were much higher than in modern societies. For example, he cites studies of prehistoric grave sites where a significant percentage of skeletons show signs of violent death. Decline of Violent Punishments: In medieval Europe, punishments like drawing and quartering, burning at the stake, and public disembowelment were commonplace. These have been abolished in modern times in favor of more humane treatments. Wars and Battle Deaths: Despite the two World Wars, the rate of deaths in interstate wars has declined since the mid-20th century. Pinker highlights the long stretches of peace between major powers and the decline in the number of genocides post-World War II. Slavery and Torture: Practices such as slavery, once accepted and widespread, have been abolished in most of the world. Similarly, the use of torture has seen a significant decline, especially in Western societies. Treatment of Minority Groups: Pinker discusses improvements in the rights and treatment of women, racial minorities, children, and LGBTQ+ individuals over the past centuries. Acts like domestic violence and hate crimes, which might once have been ignored or condoned, are now prosecuted. Animal Rights: There’s been a growing concern for the well-being of animals, leading to changes in hunting practices, animal farming, and entertainment. Child-rearing Practices: Physical punishment of children, once seen as standard, has declined in many parts of the world. Many societies now view it as unnecessary or even harmful. Data from Non-state Societies: Pinker contrasts the rates of violent death in non-state societies (like hunter-gatherer tribes) with state societies, noting that non-state societies often have higher rates of violent death. Comparative Data: Pinker compares different periods and cultures, illustrating that Enlightenment-era Europe was less violent than medieval Europe, and that the 20th century, despite its wars, was less violent in terms of individual risk of death than previous centuries.
  - 3y ago

People spend too much time staring into their phones, consuming simple carbohydrates, and being sedentary. The world is better than it's ever been. We just don't take good care of ourselves.

maxwell 3y ago

What are you talking about? Peace in Europe is shattered. The former President of the United States has been indicted multiple times on dozens of felony charges. R&D on the killer bipedal robots + assassination drones + AI from your favorite sci-fi movies is nearing completion. Full Nineteen Eighty-Four-style surveillance totalitarianism has been rolled out in occupied China and is at the pilot stage in most western countries. According to the SlaveVoyages project, almost 13 million people were captured and sold as slaves between the 15th and 19th centuries: https://www.slavevoyages.org/assessment/estimates https://www.slavevoyages.org/assessment/estimates Today, 50 million people live in slavery, according to the Walk Free Foundation: https://www.walkfree.org/global-slavery-index/findings/global-findings https://www.walkfree.org/global-slavery-index/findings/globa... Are they spending "too much time staring into their phones, consuming simple carbohydrates, and being sedentary"? The "world is better than it's ever been" for those 50 million slaves? They're just not taking "good care" of themselves? Can you find any chocolate bars that aren't made from cocoa beans harvested by child slaves in west Africa? (Only ones I've found: https://manoachocolate.com https://manoachocolate.com) Are you saying U.S. police officers extrajudicially executing more Americans in 2019 than mass shooters murdered is "better than it's ever been"? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_killings_by_law_enforcement_officers_in_the_United_States https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lists_of_killings_by_law_enfor... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_United_States_in_2019 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_... The Bank of England reporting that real wage growth in the 2010s was back to the slowest since the 19th century, and Britons just need to "take good care of" themselves? https://web.archive.org/web/20161206225850/http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/speeches/2016/speech946.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20161206225850/http://www.bankof... What's better than it's ever been? TV dramas?

rednerrus 3y ago
I could address each of these points and show how you've taken a narrow, specific stance to focus on the negative things in the world. I could point to hundreds of instances that show your view doesn't accurately represent the current state of the world or accurately place it in the context of history. It doesn't accurately account for the scale of historic cruelty, violence, famine, war, oppression, etc. Steven Pinker wrote a whole book dedicated to the topic and I've asked ChatGPT to give us the Clifs Notes: Historical Rates of Homicide: Using historical records, Pinker demonstrates that the rates of homicide in prehistoric tribes and ancient civilizations were much higher than in modern societies. For example, he cites studies of prehistoric grave sites where a significant percentage of skeletons show signs of violent death. Decline of Violent Punishments: In medieval Europe, punishments like drawing and quartering, burning at the stake, and public disembowelment were commonplace. These have been abolished in modern times in favor of more humane treatments. Wars and Battle Deaths: Despite the two World Wars, the rate of deaths in interstate wars has declined since the mid-20th century. Pinker highlights the long stretches of peace between major powers and the decline in the number of genocides post-World War II. Slavery and Torture: Practices such as slavery, once accepted and widespread, have been abolished in most of the world. Similarly, the use of torture has seen a significant decline, especially in Western societies. Treatment of Minority Groups: Pinker discusses improvements in the rights and treatment of women, racial minorities, children, and LGBTQ+ individuals over the past centuries. Acts like domestic violence and hate crimes, which might once have been ignored or condoned, are now prosecuted. Animal Rights: There’s been a growing concern for the well-being of animals, leading to changes in hunting practices, animal farming, and entertainment. Child-rearing Practices: Physical punishment of children, once seen as standard, has declined in many parts of the world. Many societies now view it as unnecessary or even harmful. Data from Non-state Societies: Pinker contrasts the rates of violent death in non-state societies (like hunter-gatherer tribes) with state societies, noting that non-state societies often have higher rates of violent death. Comparative Data: Pinker compares different periods and cultures, illustrating that Enlightenment-era Europe was less violent than medieval Europe, and that the 20th century, despite its wars, was less violent in terms of individual risk of death than previous centuries.
- 3y ago