Imagine you had the chance to be reborn at any time in human history. What would you choose?
There are plenty of sights that it would be a delight to experience first-hand. The first time our ancestors grabbed a tool. The moment pen was put to paper. Civilisation’s dawn, and the flourishing that followed. You might choose to watch Michaelangelo add the final daubs of paint to the Sistine Chapel, or cram into a 16th-Century theatre to watch a Shakespeare opening night.
However, living to see these momentary highlights would also bring myriad downsides. If you got ill, your medical care might involve leeches and trepanning. A violent death would always feel near. And the probability would be that you would be poor and hungry for most of your life. For the majority of people throughout history, life was hard, short and at times, brutal.
If you had the chance to be reborn, one of the smarter, more prudent choices would be today; right now. At times, it can feel like 2016 has been a bad year, with global terrorism flaring, refugee crises, climate change and race-related shootings to name a few of the gloomier headlines. There is no doubt that our species is far from nailing the task of becoming a prosperous, harmonious civilisation.
Nonetheless, as the researchers Ian Goldin and Chris Kutarna argued recently in their book Age of Discovery, we’ve never had it so good. Life expectancy, they point out, has risen more in the past 50 years than the previous 1000: a child born in 2016 stands a fairly good chance of seeing the arrival of the 22nd Century. The likelihood of a violent death has never been lower; on average, we’re better educated than ever, and childhood mortality has plummeted. Among the most striking changes, the last few decades has brought remarkable successes in tackling global poverty: in 1981, almost half the people in the developing world lived below the poverty line; as of 2012, that figure had dropped to 12.7%.
Apart from an increase in living standards, such improvements mean that we are, in turn, better placed to solve the 21st Century’s problems. “These conditions create an ideal habitat for ideas and genius to flourish, and that flourishing is well under way,” write Goldin and Kutarna. “Science and technology has never been closer to flipping our basic condition from scarcity to abundance.”
And that’s important because in 2016 major global challenges are manifold. We may have never had it so good, but there’s no doubt that there remains much to improve about the world. Humanity’s profligacy is threatening to send global temperatures rising; our over-use of drugs places us on the cusp of an antibiotic apocalypse, and we are far from solving the continual and ubiquitous global suffering caused by disease, cancer and mental health problems. And that’s before you even consider the myriad societal issues we have yet to deal with, such as inequality, oppression, prejudice and lack of personal freedom.
No single person can change the world, but if enough talented minds are put to enough discrete problems – if we share knowledge, and exchange ideas with one another – then seemingly incremental progress can gradually transform into great leaps.
Many of us tend to get hung up on what is going wrong in society today We get upset about laws we don’t like, we worry about what we don’t have and we get upset over life’s minor inconveniences. We complain about our governments, our taxes and our jobs. We overlook the many reasons why today is the very best time to be alive in all of human history.
Below are a just a few of the reasons why today is arguably the best time to be alive. Though people still struggle, we have made a lot of improvements and overcome a lot of global issues. To be alive today is far easier for the average person than it was to be alive just a few decades ago.
Even when things are rough, uncomfortable or displeasing, the simple fact that we are alive right now is a tremendous reason to be grateful in life. Here’s why:
1. There was a time before Google when information was hard to find.
Today, you can find the answer to just about any question you have quickly and easily. But before the days of Google and Yahoo, if you hadn’t learned it on your own or knew someone who had, you were pretty much out of luck. We often take this immense gift for granted.
Knowledge is power, and many people today can access that power simply by switching on their laptops or reaching into their pockets and pulling out their smart phones.
Today, you can find the answer to just about any question you have quickly and easily. But before the days of Google and Yahoo, if you hadn’t learned it on your own or knew someone who had, you were pretty much out of luck. We often take this immense gift for granted.
Knowledge is power, and many people today can access that power simply by switching on their laptops or reaching into their pockets and pulling out their smart phones.
2. There was a time where torture and capital punishments were common (and public) occurrences.
Can you imagine living through the reign of terror during the French Revolution, where thousands of people were put to death via guillotine? Can you imagine witnessing a public hanging first hand as a child? I’d continue on with examples, but it’s just too disturbing for me to spend more time on this subject.
Though we aren’t a completely “non-violent” species, we have come a long way.
3. There was a time where slavery and subjugation were considered socially acceptable.
There have been many people in history who spent their entire lives as someone else’s property, or who were been captured and held in captivity.
Most people today enjoy a greater degree of freedom than many did in the past. While we might still feel trapped at times by the systems we live in, we still have far greater independence than many who have come before us.
Can you imagine living through the reign of terror during the French Revolution, where thousands of people were put to death via guillotine? Can you imagine witnessing a public hanging first hand as a child? I’d continue on with examples, but it’s just too disturbing for me to spend more time on this subject.
Though we aren’t a completely “non-violent” species, we have come a long way.
3. There was a time where slavery and subjugation were considered socially acceptable.
There have been many people in history who spent their entire lives as someone else’s property, or who were been captured and held in captivity.
Most people today enjoy a greater degree of freedom than many did in the past. While we might still feel trapped at times by the systems we live in, we still have far greater independence than many who have come before us.
4. There was a time where travel was dangerous and extremely challenging.
Today, we have many forms of transportation that make travel far easier and quicker than it was in the past. We travel in cars and on airplanes and trains rather than by foot, horseback or carriage.
Travel has become so easy that many of us now have the opportunity to travel just for fun, rather than out of necessity. Travel that used to take a lifetime now only takes hours.
Today, we have many forms of transportation that make travel far easier and quicker than it was in the past. We travel in cars and on airplanes and trains rather than by foot, horseback or carriage.
Travel has become so easy that many of us now have the opportunity to travel just for fun, rather than out of necessity. Travel that used to take a lifetime now only takes hours.
5. There was a time when outbreaks of illness were extremely common.
In the Middle Ages, for example, at least a third of the European population was wiped out by the plague, and it was common to lose one’s entire family to illness. To be sure, people still get sick, but our exposure to deadly disease has been drastically reduced.
These are just a few reasons why now is the best time to be alive in human history. Although some of these items aren’t particularly happy things to think about, hopefully they do offer a little bit of perspective.
As a species, we have come a very long way, and we have created a pretty awesome improvement in our average standard of living. It would be hard to imagine living in an earlier time in human history by today’s standards.
Life will never be “perfect.” It is always evolving, and there will always be something greater that we are reaching for. However, we’ve already created quite a lot to be proud of! When life’s got us down, remembering those who have come before us can help us to stay positive and optimistic about where we are today.
In the Middle Ages, for example, at least a third of the European population was wiped out by the plague, and it was common to lose one’s entire family to illness. To be sure, people still get sick, but our exposure to deadly disease has been drastically reduced.
These are just a few reasons why now is the best time to be alive in human history. Although some of these items aren’t particularly happy things to think about, hopefully they do offer a little bit of perspective.
As a species, we have come a very long way, and we have created a pretty awesome improvement in our average standard of living. It would be hard to imagine living in an earlier time in human history by today’s standards.
Life will never be “perfect.” It is always evolving, and there will always be something greater that we are reaching for. However, we’ve already created quite a lot to be proud of! When life’s got us down, remembering those who have come before us can help us to stay positive and optimistic about where we are today.
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