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The gloom and doom over the degridation of society

W

WALMART

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People are overwhelmingly both pessimists and special snowflakes.

Edit: add know-it-alls.
 

Mole

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What have the Romans ever done for us?

oh yes? like how? I mean, now we have a lot more advanced medicine to reduce infant & mother mortality rate, raise life expectancy, prevent & treat a lot of diseases. We have the technology to bring clean water to more population, better access to education, more secular societies. ANything else missing?

Well yes, we understand the reality of the world. We understand the reality at the sub-microscopic level with quantum mechanics. And we understand the reality of the world above the macro-level with general relativity.

We understand the reality of our economic world with Adam Smith's, "Wealth of Nations".

We understand the scientific method.

We understand how to limit power with liberal democracy.

We have improved our social world beyond recognition with the abolition of institutional slavery for the first time in history by the House of Commons in 1833.

And we have improved our social world with the emancipation of women for the first time in history in Australia and New Zealand in 1901.

And we have liberated children from child abuse for the first time in history in Ireland in 2009, just as we are liberating children from child abuse as I write with the Australian Royal Commission into Child Abuse.

The list goes on and on and on, and it reminds me of the Monty Python sketch where Brian asks, "What have the Romans ever done for us?". To see what the Romans have done for us, click on - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IsxrFZIc3o0
 

tinker683

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I'd be curious to know just how civilized "the gold ole' days" really were if they had smartphones, YouTube, and Facebook back then. I can't help but think that the advent of social media and the Internet has made it very easy to see all of humanities ugliness very easily.

Also: Honey Boo Boo. Need I say more?
 

Lark

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Naive optimism and naive pessimism are both a curse.

I prefer rational optimism though.
 

sprinkles

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Well one concept is that even though most people probably try to be helpful, or at least benign, the ones who aren't like that can do a whole lot of damage.

I think it is on a downward slant currently, but that isn't abnormal or unusual since societies have always fluctuated.
 

Mole

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Depression and Delusion

Depression is largest reason for seeing a doctor.

And those suffering from depression see all the world as doom and gloom, when the world is improving as we watch.

So depression is another delusion.
 

Mole

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Hitler was democratically elected!

Is this an argument against liberal democracy?

Perhaps as a counterpoint we should say that no liberal democracy has ever gone go war against another liberal democracy.
 

Blackmail!

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Is this an argument against liberal democracy?

Perhaps as a counterpoint we should say that no liberal democracy has ever gone go war against another liberal democracy.

Don't be too idealistic.

What do you think, for instance, of the US supported coup against president Allende in Chile in 1973?

Allende was a true liberal democrat. He wasn't even communist (he was supported by christian democrats)... but yet, he threatened US economical interests in South America.
 

Mole

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Don't be too idealistic.

What do you think, for instance, of the US supported coup against president Allende in Chile in 1973?

Allende was a true liberal democrat. He wasn't even communist (he was supported by christian democrats)... but yet, he threatened US economical interests in South America.

Yes, Blackmail, you have made a good point. And perhaps I am too idealistic.
 

Rail Tracer

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It is more of the same. It is just that information is traveling faster than we have had in the past. Almost instantaneous information is both "good" and "bad" in itself. We get live updates and everything within minutes. If we were to compare each century from the 1800 century until today (or even 2000 years ago,) there are many horrors, both in history books and those that are overlooked, just as we do today.

In both the civil war and the revolutionary war, it took weeks to months for the messenger to bring that same needed information to a city or outpost. In that same timeframe, they would still be at war killing one another compared to today (where we would get a temporary ceasefire message almost immediately.)

I have read Socrates had a similar complaint about his society.

How exactly does one define "downhill" when referring to a society?

Or, to rephrase that, what is a society going downhill? ;)
 
G

garbage

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More information overload and existential anxiety, but also much more opportunity and arguably fewer Black Plagues. I say stuff is generally on an upward trajectory overall.
 

Mole

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More information overload and existential anxiety, but also much more opportunity and arguably fewer Black Plagues. I say stuff is generally on an upward trajectory overall.

Doom and gloom are in short supply here as we are not only in the middle of a mining boom but we are talking about the next boom in food.
 
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