Watching news on TV and scanning the news in the internet gets quite depressing and unnerving at times. There are really days when I skip reading/watching/scanning the news to reduce stress and anxiety. But as I am a businessman, a professional, and a columnist, I have to keep abreast of all the news. I have been doing this for the last 65 years and I have observed the evolution of the medium, coverage, and transmission over these years. The technological advances have been amazing, the coverage more extensive, the depth of the analysis, and the speed of the transmission phenomenal. So, if the state of the world is getting worse and the world is getting crazier, it’s coming to us faster.
The ongoing wars in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Myanmar, and some parts of Africa seem unending. The civil unrest in Haiti and some Latin American countries continue. The geo-political tensions in Korea, Taiwan, Philippines, Sri Lanka and other developing countries are destabilizing. Then there is the environmental degradation/global warming, epidemics/pandemics, and natural calamities. On top of these, are the political oppression, persecution and abuses perpetrated by governments on their minorities and their people. If the world was a canvas, it really doesn’t paint a pretty picture today.
Going back to ancient history and the history of civilization, we wonder if these crazy happenings also happened in those times. The Greek and Spartan wars, the Roman conquests of neighboring states, the medieval wars including the Crusades may have been as ruthless and bloody. Then, of course the two world wars in the early 20th century, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War that killed millions and destroyed structures and productive capacities in many countries. The natural disasters were also always there, and the plagues and other pandemics also caused as much suffering. If the numbers of casualties and deaths as reported by early historians are correct, then about 20% to 30% of the people in the world were in a state of suffering in all those times.
A 2022 World bank report stated that 712,000,000 people in the world are in extreme poverty with income of less than $2 a day. This is about 10% of the more than seven billion population of the world at that time. The causes of poverty in many countries are war, civil unrest, disasters, calamities, epidemics, and political problems. If we add to this percentage the suffering of the people above this poverty level, it would seem that the percentage of suffering people in the whole world would be in the 20% to 30%, like it has always been since time immemorial. On the other hand, the significant drop in infant mortality, the discovery of cures to many diseases, and advances in medical science that prevented/cured many illnesses cannot be denied, and have prolonged the lifespan of people especially in the developed world. The 70% of the people of the world, particularly in advanced and peaceful countries have been improving their lifestyles and life. So, is the state of the world worsening and getting crazier?
The Malthusian theory of world collapse due to over population which will make the world unable to feed the people did not happen. Science and technology were able to improve production and productivity to continue feeding most of the world, but not the whole world as there is starvation in many poor, war-torn countries. The issue is good governments/good governance that will lead to peace and a better distribution of wealth and resources. The problems are really the politicians and governments who mismanage their countries’ economies and are only after their self-interests. Democratic and autocratic governments are culpable in these situations although populist/dictatorial regimes are more prone to the abuses and corruption in their countries.
There’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that with the increasing world population that will reach nine billion, the absolute number of people suffering will keep on increasing even if the percentage is constant. The good news is that population growth is slowing down fast in developed countries, the nine-billion population might be the equilibrium, after which poverty levels will decrease in percentage and absolute numbers. The other good news, is that the advances of information and communication technologies will promote more transparent and responsible democratic or autocratic governments who will govern effectively and efficiently. The world is getting crazier, but the people will make it better, and thank God it will not last forever.