Comment by customguy

3 days ago

> doing better than ever on most important metrics

I'd say the most important metrics are those that matter to people, not those that other people say should matter to them. Births are going down, suicide is going up, but they're just drama queens, we ran the numbers... that is what turns mere criticism into hatred.

Less and less people own a bigger and bigger share of wealth, and they're too often not decent people who respect democracy and the fact that they're still just one person, not a particularly special one, and still only have one vote. No, many of them are not content with that, and have assaulted the people ever since they successfully fought for the few worker's rights they have now. That is bad enough, and not even close to the full picture. That "it used to be worse" in some metrics isn't relevant, what matters is now, how it is because of robber barons, and how it would be without them.

If someone steals most of your shit but leave you with more than "people used to have, on average, in historic times", you wouldn't be placated by that. Because, weirdly enough, you don't view yourself as a mere abstraction to be talked about that way, and billions of other people don't view themselves that way either.

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customguy

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wilg  3 days ago

Look, don’t know what to tell you, there is lots of extremely reliable well vetted and well understood information about the welfare of people on this planet and in what directions it is moving. Pretending information is imaginary or offensively abstract because you’re upset about income inequality (which is even more of an abstraction) is not good or helpful.

  • customguy  2 days ago

    Then why are we not happier than ever?

    And are you saying you would not in fact not mind being treated worse than other people today, as long as you're getting treated better than someone in the stone age? You completely sidestepped that part of my comment, only to frame me as somehow upset and irrational, such as

    > "Pretending information is imaginary or offensively abstract because you’re upset about income inequality (which is even more of an abstraction)"

    Fairness and justice matter. Sure they're abstract, so is happiness, so is hate. Come to think of it, none of the important stuff, none of the in-between stuff that makes any of the measurable stuff real and meaningful, can be easily measured. And how people feel about their lives and where society is going matters because they feel it, not because it filters down to some numbers you happen to accept.

    And even IF everything was getting better all the time, it would still matter that people don't feel it. They're not "tempted" by being unhappy, nobody wants to be. Pretending that's the case for the majority of people, just because you're upset human reality is messy and wet is not good or helpful.