We’ve considered the top three categories in “Part 2”.
Next, we look at opportunities for humans to do meaningful work. This category is not easy to evaluate. According to a Harvard Business Review article, 9 Out of 10 People Are Willing to Earn Less Money to Do More-Meaningful Work.
Gallup polls provide a way to think about this. When asked how satisfied employees are with their jobs, the percentage of “completely satisfied” workers has climbed from 35% to 50% from 1993 to 2023.
Based on this, humans are BETTER off now when finding meaningful work than in 1970.
While I have no good way to measure sustainable growth over time, climate change is a related measure. Because humans do not currently live on other planets, it makes sense to consider how well we’re doing on Earth.
According to NASA, “The 10 most recent years are the warmest years on record.” The plot on this page indicates we’re going in the wrong direction.
Humans are WORSE off now than in 1970 in terms of sustainable growth.
Diversity may not make sense as a global measure. For any given country, we can look at immigration. In the United States, immigration has increased since 1970.
I think this is a good thing. According to the World Migration Report in 2024, about one in thirty people are migrants. This seems reasonable. While I would have to dig deeper to really understand the dynamics in play, it’s safe to say that humans are better off now, given that diversity has increased since 1970.
Exploration is also tough to measure. This Timeline of Scientific Progress is somewhat helpful. Even Quora is somewhat helpful. Given what I hoped for as a kid, I’m disappointed in the progress we’ve made during the last fifty years. Nevertheless, I have to admit that we’ve moved forward as explorers.
Significant work includes the development of the Standard Model, the discovery of the Higgs Boson, DNA processing, observations of dark matter, the discovery of extra-Solar planets, and more.
Regarding exploration, humanity is BETTER off now than when I was a kid.
Even without weighting, the answer seems to be clear. The conclusion is inescapable. For me, based on the criteria I’ve developed, humanity is BETTER off now than when I was a kid!
Next, I’ll look at my personal situation in “Part 4”.
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