Nothin' changed?
Looks like the same world this morning as it was yesterday, other than paper fireworks residue all over the street.
Charlie Stross points out that if you think in terms of a new decade things are markedly better for a whole lot of people around the world:
- Between 2000 and 2010, AIDS somehow turned into a non-fatal-if-treated chronic medical condition
- we're close to exterminating polio and dracunculiasis (aka guinea worm disease) in the wild
- both China and India underwent annual economic growth averaging around 10% per year throughout the decade
- The number of people living in poverty and with unsafe water supplies world-wide today is about the same as it was in 1970. Only difference is, there were 3 billion of us back then and today we're nearer to 7 billion
- Africa averaged around 5% growth throughout the decade
There's more, and he's right. Worldwide there were huge advances for billions of people. Unless you're the Grinch or a complete reactionary, these are good things that happened between 2000 and 2010. Yes, there were bad things as well, but we shouldn't lose sight of the good while dwelling on them.
Posted by Linkmeister at January 1, 2011 08:27 AM
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