Things in the 20th century were fucked, but almost everyone believed at a bone-deep level that things were getting better. That whatever problems society was fa

Things in the 20th century were fucked, but almost everyone believed at a bone-deep level that things were getting better. That whatever problems society was facing would eventually be solved, and that for individuals, there was a path to improving their lives. Even dissidents who didn't believe in their society's mythologies believed that a better world was possible. Young people today don't have that belief. And they're probably correct. Our society is visibly committed to not solving any of the problems facing it, and the levers of decision-making are very clearly out of the hands of anyone who cares about solving them.