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Message
Is much of our daily angst just our inability to see how good we actually have it?
Posted on 11/19/25 at 5:10 pm
Posted on 11/19/25 at 5:10 pm
I think there is a case that the tech as medium in the hands of chiefly college educated critics who are heavily of my generation, Gen X, which has always been very cynical, is perhaps at the heart of why we don't see how good we actually have it compared to what most of human exist experienced.
A good read for those looking for something anti-doom and pro-capitalist.
Ingratitude of the Well Fed:
LINK
A good read for those looking for something anti-doom and pro-capitalist.
Ingratitude of the Well Fed:
LINK
13
Posted on 11/19/25 at 5:14 pm to hansenthered1
The average middle American worker today lives a better life than the richest man in the world 150 years ago.
Some kings and queens of Europe and England lived absolutely wretched lives just a few hundred years ago. Eaten up with all sorts of diseases. Bad water. Rotten food. Cold damp castles. Essentially no medical care. And they were the lucky ones.
Some kings and queens of Europe and England lived absolutely wretched lives just a few hundred years ago. Eaten up with all sorts of diseases. Bad water. Rotten food. Cold damp castles. Essentially no medical care. And they were the lucky ones.
Posted on 11/19/25 at 5:14 pm to hansenthered1
I think its more that we realize how much the people in charge are fricking up a good thing. All the productivity the American workforce has generated has been used to funnel a ton of wealth into the hands of private entities while robbing the public coffers blind and leaving us in astounding debt.
Posted on 11/19/25 at 5:15 pm to hansenthered1
Its because we are unfulfilled.
Lack of meaning, tied to corporate jobs that are easily replaceable.
Lack of meaning, tied to corporate jobs that are easily replaceable.
Posted on 11/19/25 at 5:17 pm to hansenthered1
We have it great but not everyone sees that
The ones that don’t see how good the US is, tend to mess it up for everyone else. Which causes disgust because the ones who are relatively happy are blamed for the ones who are ungrateful.
The ones that don’t see how good the US is, tend to mess it up for everyone else. Which causes disgust because the ones who are relatively happy are blamed for the ones who are ungrateful.
Posted on 11/19/25 at 5:18 pm to No Colors
quote:
The average middle American worker today lives a better life than the richest man in the world 150 years ago.
We live a more comfortable life.
I doubt theyd trade spots with you to sit in a cubacle doing busy work for 40 hours a week in exchange for AC and better toilets.
You get used to no AC rather quickly.
Posted on 11/19/25 at 5:18 pm to No Colors
quote:
The average middle American worker today lives a better life than the richest man in the world 150 years ago.
Comfort =/= better.
Posted on 11/19/25 at 5:21 pm to RogerTheShrubber
quote:
Comfort =/= better.
Yeah it seems naive to think it does.
Kings could gather up their boys and go on week long hunts that were the equivalent of bachelor parties all the time.
Do people really think they wouldve had better lives posting on a message board or watching the NBA?
Posted on 11/19/25 at 5:22 pm to sgallo3
Even if huge amounts of utility are directed to a few people, overall we all are way way way better off now than anytime in history.
From the article: "With a flick of a finger on the wall, we control giant turbines dozens of kilometres away, sending an instantaneous stream of electrons into our living rooms. With another simple gesture, we summon clean and chemically purified water, regularly inspected by benevolent authorities. With a few mouse clicks, we command a globe-spanning colossus, delivering our favourite trinkets via massive container ships. And with a simple push of a button, our bodily excreta vanish out of sight, channelled through intricate sewage systems and treatment plants, so we never have to think about them again."
My take is that the point of the article is not to talk about how good we have it but to encourage a culture that appreciates this instead of one that is reflexively cynical and doom oriented.
From the article: "With a flick of a finger on the wall, we control giant turbines dozens of kilometres away, sending an instantaneous stream of electrons into our living rooms. With another simple gesture, we summon clean and chemically purified water, regularly inspected by benevolent authorities. With a few mouse clicks, we command a globe-spanning colossus, delivering our favourite trinkets via massive container ships. And with a simple push of a button, our bodily excreta vanish out of sight, channelled through intricate sewage systems and treatment plants, so we never have to think about them again."
My take is that the point of the article is not to talk about how good we have it but to encourage a culture that appreciates this instead of one that is reflexively cynical and doom oriented.
This post was edited on 11/19/25 at 5:24 pm
Posted on 11/19/25 at 5:25 pm to sgallo3
quote:
Yeah it seems naive to think it does.
Yep, quality of life is relative. 30 years from now people will wonder how people in 2025 survived and laugh at the idea that it could have been better.
A king living 150 years ago was at the apex of mankind and society. They didnt know what they were missing from the future.
Posted on 11/19/25 at 5:25 pm to hansenthered1
Yeah OP we do have it better than any society that has ever lived by and large. I was just disagreeing with the guy that said the average person today has it better than kings
This post was edited on 11/19/25 at 5:26 pm
Posted on 11/19/25 at 5:29 pm to GreenRockTiger
quote:
We have it great but not everyone sees that
Life is definitely easier than ever. I just dont believe its nearly as fulfilling.
Posted on 11/19/25 at 5:33 pm to RogerTheShrubber
So, a peasant nearly starving but blessed to not work in a dastardly corporation was more fulfilled?
When we say fulfilled what do we mean? It's about expectations. The more you have, the more you think you should have. I think happiness has been shown in a lot of sociological studies to be very closely correlated to unfilled expectations. A poorer person who's goal in life is to have children and access to clean water is often more happy than someone with advanced degrees, who thinks they should be making 20k more in their job and also living in a better apartment in a cooler city etc.
IMO, a lot of why we are pissed off is actually learned...it's not organic response to our lived conditions it's gleamed from peers, peer review journal articles and on pop-culture sources like TV and especially online.
When we say fulfilled what do we mean? It's about expectations. The more you have, the more you think you should have. I think happiness has been shown in a lot of sociological studies to be very closely correlated to unfilled expectations. A poorer person who's goal in life is to have children and access to clean water is often more happy than someone with advanced degrees, who thinks they should be making 20k more in their job and also living in a better apartment in a cooler city etc.
IMO, a lot of why we are pissed off is actually learned...it's not organic response to our lived conditions it's gleamed from peers, peer review journal articles and on pop-culture sources like TV and especially online.
This post was edited on 11/19/25 at 5:35 pm
Posted on 11/19/25 at 5:36 pm to No Colors
quote:
The average middle American worker today lives a better life than the richest man in the world 150 years ago.
Not even fricking close jesus.
a guy who was NOT the richest man in the world 135 years ago had this place as his summer house
His primary home was a 6 story mansion that took up an entire city block (complete with a large garden and stables) across the street from Central Park in Manhattan.
This post was edited on 11/19/25 at 5:45 pm
Posted on 11/19/25 at 5:43 pm to No Colors
quote:
Some kings and queens of Europe and England lived absolutely wretched lives just a few hundred years ago. Eaten up with all sorts of diseases. Bad water. Rotten food. Cold damp castles. Essentially no medical care. And they were the lucky ones.
Most of us can:
Go anywhere we want at speeds that weren’t realistic a couple hundred years ago
Have whatever kind of food we want delivered to our doors
Have merchandise from around the world delivered to our doors
Control the temperature indoors within a couple degrees
Communicate with people worldwide by text, audio and video
Quickly get medical care that would have looked like magic a couple hundred years ago
Be entertained 24x7
This post was edited on 11/19/25 at 5:56 pm
Posted on 11/19/25 at 5:47 pm to hansenthered1
quote:
So, a peasant nearly starving but blessed to not work in a dastardly corporation was more fulfilled?
Nope.
The most wealthy King did live a "better: life than the average person today but of course this is just opinion.
Oddly, AI might give mankind the opportunity to pursue more fulfilling things.
This post was edited on 11/19/25 at 5:51 pm
Posted on 11/19/25 at 6:02 pm to hansenthered1
Yes.
Posted on 11/19/25 at 6:16 pm to hansenthered1
The American middle class has first world problems no matter what side of the political spectrum you inhabit.
Posted on 11/19/25 at 6:19 pm to No Colors
quote:
The average middle American worker today lives a better life than the richest man in the world 150 years ago.
I’d take the Vanderbilts of the Morgans life right now
Posted on 11/19/25 at 6:22 pm to RogerTheShrubber
Are you speaking more or less on the intangibles? Things like community and social involvement? Like my grandfather would talk about how he would get together at the local Catholic Church once or twice a week to do community service things with the K of C or be just ....."involved". Family and neighbor interaction?
Because in that respect, we have lost a lot of that.
Because in that respect, we have lost a lot of that.
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