Progress is a saw-toothed curve, but on average it’s a much better time to be alive now than any point in history.

Religion is on the decline. The less we make decisions based upon irrational beliefs the better off we all are.

Western cultures are getting more partisan, less likely to agree on any international or domestic issues and hence less able to act decisively to any existing or new issues that arise.

Relatedly, corporations have succeeded in embedding themselves in the political apparatus to varying degrees in Western countries, allowing them to manipulate the system in subtle ways to their profit and everyone else’s detriment.

Damage to the environment has certainly gone past the point where any individual action can have an appreciable effect and likely gone past the point where political or corporate action (unlikely anyway due to the points above) can do anything.

Finally, peak oil is finally starting to kick in, will only get worse and in the end will have a catastrophic effect on the industrialized world, leading to more war and perhaps even the collapse of nations.

Strap yourself in, we’re in for an interesting ride…

/Mike

The false dichotomy of “better” or “worse” assumes a fixed environment, which does not and can not exist. The world changes, and individuals either adapt or die, eventually producing entirely new cultures.

(This is a false dilemma, having to choose one or the other answer; really my feelings are mixed, but when I try to put them all together, this is where I come out)