Evidence that we are living better than before

Many say that life used to be better. Less than half a century ago, we read entire books on printed paper, ate foods with few preservatives that lasted less, the first rocket was launched into space and we occupied public places in search of leisure more often. Today, we are confined within 4 walls reading books on the Internet, immersed in our screens (tablets, computers and smartphones) and buying ready meals, which last a long time. But if we look at our history from a long-term perspective, we will see that the changes in society are much more profound than we imagine.

Of course there are negatives, but the positives outweigh them. Think, for example, of diseases that are now eradicated even in the poorest countries and that, in the past, claimed thousands, even millions of victims.

O awesome.club analyzed research by economist at the renowned University of Oxford (in England), Max Roser, who studied people’s lifestyles over the last 200 years. When you see the results, you will probably be grateful that you live in the 21st century.

At the start of a war, there is often a surge in technology development as a country accumulates its own resources for the military industry. The classic case is the many inventions that occurred during the Second World War. But war in general is not an engine of progress. In the final balance, poverty, hunger and increased mortality remain.

Science developed at a rapid pace after World War II, when education in schools and institutes became more accessible and capitalist society created a demand for new products and technologies.

Those who dictate the demands for technological advancement are no longer the monarchs, as has already happened, but the common consumer, all of us, who, by giving preference to a cell phone with a camera or GPS, for example, are encouraging the industry and its developers to create new technologies for devices.

At the beginning of the 20th century, one in three people had access to clean water. In addition, more than half of the population lived in extreme hunger and did not have access to even 1/3 of the necessary daily amount of vitamins and minerals. Meat was an extremely expensive luxury, fruits and vegetables were available only during the time they were harvested. Lack of refrigeration and other conservation methods deprived people of certain foods that provided important nutrients for much of the year. Meals were based solely on bread, grains and dairy products.

Today, 91% of people have access to quality water every day. We have more possibilities to buy fruits, vegetables, red meat and white meat in establishments close to us at any time of the year. Thanks to this, our immune system has strengthened, we have become stronger and smarter. And advances in food technology will make our children and grandchildren even smarter than we are.

200 years ago, a large number of people lived in poverty. The expansion of the agricultural sector required a lot of effort, and many people were far from managing their own lives and destiny. The standard of living of people today classified as middle class or even of some considered poor is higher than that of those who, 100 years ago, were classified as elite. This in terms of access to food, water and health, for example.

But industrialization also increased the growth of work possibilities, the prices of products and articles for everyday life began to fall and life expectancy increased. Since 1990, 130,000 people have left poverty every year and, today, less than 10% of people live in extreme poverty.

The trend for the next decades is the growth of the so-called Sharing Economy. For example, people rent a property while traveling to another country rather than buying a vacation property in a specific place. Or they even pay money to buy a car and take turns using it.

Access to education is a 20th century achievement. In 1820, only one in 10 people over the age of 15 could read and write. In 1930, one out of every three children received a basic education, and today, 85% of people have a basic education.

The world changes fast and today, a person is better qualified and receives an education throughout his life. The development of science, society and civilization is impossible without a diffusion of knowledge. Currently, we have much more possibilities to choose what we want to study. And yet, we can help those whose right to education is limited by their living conditions, sharing our knowledge and experiences.

In the 19th century, an average citizen of Great Britain (the most developed country at that time) hardly reached the age of 40. In Korea and India, anyone who reached the age of 23 could celebrate because he was a victor.

Today, life expectancy at birth in Brazil is almost 76 years. In Japan, one of the longest-lived countries, life expectancy at birth is 83 years.

This advance was only possible thanks to the greater supply of food, medical care (even in conditions that, nowadays, we can consider bad) and a greater awareness of their own health.

Think, for example, of the kind of medical treatment that a person who broke a leg or had the flu would have had during the middle ages.

At the beginning of the 19th century, 1/3 of children died before reaching 5 years of age. Changing this reality was only possible thanks to advances in medicine, improved quality of life and a greater and better supply of foods that, in most cases, now leave the factory enriched with a series of vitamins and salts. minerals – wheat flour here in Brazil, for example, enriched with folic acid (an important nutrient for the formation of babies) and iron, an element that prevents anemia.

Thanks to advances like these, neonatal mortality has dropped rapidly by 79%. Today, doctors adopt principles of hygiene that are considered common and that centuries ago were not even known. People stopped dying from the common cold, flu, diarrhea or any dehydration in high temperature zones. In addition, a visit to the dentist or a simple suture are no longer justifications for writing a will.

Quality food, clean water and warmer, cleaner homes help our bodies to resist pathological agents.

The increase in study time and a greater knowledge of basic science, even by the simplest people, have increased awareness of hygiene standards, the importance of taking vaccines and having regular exams, identifying the first symptoms of most diseases.

200 years ago, a woman would give birth to 5 to 7 children and often died before reaching the age of 30. Nowadays, mortality has decreased and people are living longer.

Modern parents, in general, have 2 to 3 children and only after the age of 30 – in Brazil, the average is less than two children per woman. And there is nothing unusual about it: living conditions have improved, people try to give their children better financial well-being and a better education so that, in the future, each of them can live on their own efforts.

Despite the existence of some dictatorships around the world, in general, political freedoms and citizens’ rights have increased in recent years. The Internet has changed our lives, giving every person the opportunity to be heard and allowing access to knowledge previously restricted to expensive encyclopedias and inaccessible books. People study, follow world events in real time, vote, revolutionize, fall in love and meet like-minded people anywhere in the world thanks to the Internet.

Political regimes close to autocracy or based on religious ideology are, in most countries, a thing of the past. Two centuries ago, 99% of people did not have the right to vote, thousands were in a situation of slavery and the status obtained at birth determined a person’s life throughout his life. In modern society and developed countries, people independently make decisions that determine their future for the first time in mankind’s existence.

And that’s just the beginning! What will happen in a century? We know that despite so much good happening, our world still needs to improve a lot. We still hope for a lot of progress (:

What 21st century event do you believe has influenced your life more than any other?