Alot of people are having an uneasy feeling about what direction society and the world is heading. There is a certain level of anxiety that comes with the unknown. This is completely natural but it seems like for alot of people, it has been heightened in recent years.
I found myself browsing around on Reddit today and I eventually wandered across this exact question. Are things really better now than what they were 50 to 60 or so years ago? There was alot of debate going on in the threads about whether things are objectively worse now than in the past or if we are just remembering the past in a more favorable way than it actually was because we have gotten use to a certain standard of living and the definition of a quality life has changed. Understanding this can help us identify the trajectory of where things may be heading. While on an individual level, it is important to always improve yourself and focus on bettering your own life, taking into account the trajectory of the world at large can give you some insight into what is to come. Since I am from the United States and have not yet traveled outside, this article will mostly be from that perspective.
The most obvious improvements that we have seen has come from the tech sphere. Technology has had significant improvements even when compared to other things like housing and vehicles. Houses and cars haven’t even come close to the technological advancements we have seen in the past few decades. Technology has completely changed the way we communicate, entertain ourselves, work, and navigate the world. It has also given many of us great opportunities that we couldn’t have even imagined 50 years ago. While technological advances do have downsides such as people living less in the real world due to the addictive nature of certain applications, all in all tech seems to be a net positive so far for most people.
With that out of the way, it is time to get into the more important things in life: The basic necessities such as food, shelter, and support networks.
In terms of shelter, one may think that prices should go down as a home depreciates but this is not the case. Land is a limited resource and as the population increases, it becomes more valuable. This creates a gradual increase in home and land prices. What has happened recently has clearly not been gradual. Since COVID a lot of home builders have went and found different lines of work due to the increase costs of materials. At the same time, low interest rates created a buyers market. Lack of supply and high demand caused a steep increase in price. A global economy is not something that can be turned off then turned back on like a light switch as there are many intricate moving parts that are all dependent on one another. The same can be said for the price of groceries as well. While COVID may have been the trigger that caused a lot of these issues, it isn’t the sole reason that they are happening.
The truth of the matter is, America has lost a lot of its productive output over the years. Most businesses in America are not manufacturing anything that the rest of the world needs but rather providing services such as education, health care, retail, etc. Don’t get me wrong, these things are important as well but the lack of manufacturing means that we are in debt to other countries that actually provide value.
One glaring example of this is the American sanctions on Russia. America may have more material wealth than Russia and a higher standard of living but it is being financed by productive countries. Russia is a major exporter of fuel to Europe and because of this, Russia’s sanctions were more effective than the sanctions of the western countries.
According to AOL, when adjusting for inflation most things are much more expensive now than in 1972. Groceries have increased by as much as 12% in the past couple years. While overall, food has become more affordable since 1972, these sharp increases are troublesome when coupled with the increasing costs of gas and utilities. In fact, when adjusting for inflation, gas in 1972 would be right around $2.53 today. Vehicles have also become more expensive since then.
When it comes to housing, the price increase is even more dramatic. Median home prices increased 121% nationwide since 1960, but median household income only increased by 29% (listwithclever.com).
Pricing only tells half the story, the other half is quality of the goods we purchase. Many items that used to be made out of durable metal, leather, or wood are now made out of plastics and other cheaper fabrics. The incentive for producers to build things as cheaply and quickly as possible means that quality suffers. When customers make purchasing decisions, especially when shopping online, they may not even notice the decline in quality until long after the product has already been bought.
From a social level, we have seen improvements in long distance communication which is important because most of us no longer live in communities where everyone knows everybody and stays close. Being able to keep in touch using social media and video calls have been helpful but certainly have not replaced the need for community that people have.
I think the lack of a support network as well as the lack of stability both economically and socially has had the largest negative impact on the modern world. This isn’t to say going backwards is the correct way either. Time goes on. I do believe we need a entirely new direction and way of looking at things in order to fix these issues. Using old systems to address modern problems is where we run into problems. I would love to hear some feedback and ideas from my readers on how we can make the world a better place.
