What do we observe in the world?
This can feel like an overwhelming task. About 6 months ago, I read Freakonomics and LOVED the authors' commitment to examining conventional wisdom and determining its validity - something Jesus did quite often. So, I'm going to touch on a few hot topics (not a comprehensive list!) and then get into the metaphysical. Please don't interpret this as undervaluing or dismissing these important issues. Instead, I'm trying to VERY briefly summarize global trends on key measures of health, safety, and well-being. My point is not to prove that everything is getting better - just to see if the data supports the assumption that it's getting worse. Here goes...
MORTALITY: The global average for life expectancy has doubled since 1900 (from 31 to 67)
(WHO). Child deaths fell 30% from 1990-2008. In every category I could find except diabetes, mortality/morbidity has improved dramatically over time.
VIOLENCE: There have been countless peaks of cruelty (Nero, Genghis Khan, Hitler, Darfur, etc) but not a steady increase. "In recent decades, despite the growth in population, the number of war casualties around the world has declined - as have the number of terrorist casualties. In some earlier generations, 25% of the male population died violent deaths. Over the past century, even counting the world wars, a person's chance of dying from war or violent civil strife was less than 2%." (RD)
EDUCATION: "In 1970, barely half the people in the world were literate, and many could afford only a few books...Today, more than 80% of the world's people can read, and 22% have access to the Internet." In 2010, enrollment in primary education reached 89% in the developing world (FAO).
NATURAL DISASTERS: Globally, "extreme weather" accounts for about 0.02% of all deaths - near the bottom of the list for causes of death (and not even listed on most charts).
HUNGER: While incomes have risen since 1950, the inflation-adjusted price of food has declined by 75%, according to the World Resources Institute, 2009. The global poverty rate is expected to fall to 15% by 2015, half the rate of 1990 (UN).
Year: Share of malnourished people in the developing world
1970: 37%
1980: 28%
1990: 20%
2009: 16 %
-- Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
SEXUALITY: While Western promiscuity (sex outside of marriage) seems to have increased (see The Myth of Rampant Teenage Promiscuity for an example of how even this can be debated), this is relative to modern times. Unfortunately, it's almost impossible to nail down historical statistics because for most of history, women were considered property. Which leads us to...
BIGOTRY: It's hard to overestimate how far we've come in the past century when it comes to respecting the lives and value of others - women, minorities, etc. The evidence is so overwhelming, we'll just move on...
ENVIRONMENT: The conservation movement is almost entirely a modern phenomenon since past centuries often considered Earth's resources practically unlimited. While we have bigger environmental issues to face, we also have unprecedented resources pointed at those problems -- and unprecedented awareness and participation from citizens to governments to businesses.
CHRISTIANITY: 33% (2 billion) of the world's population is considered to be Christian. Evangelicals have grown from only 3 million in 1500AD (00.6% of the population) to 648 million worldwide in 2001 (10.5% of global population). -- Center for the Study of Global Christianity
Bottom Line: Our generation globally lives longer, safer, and healthier than any generation before it. We unwittingly experience less risk than past generations. And future generations are expected to be even healthier and safer for longer than us.
So what's it all mean?
Stay tuned for Part 3! The last installment. I think.
*Unless otherwise noted, stats came from the Human Security Report Project and John Mueller of OSU, quoted in Readers Digest, Feb 2009.
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