A Very Focused Reflection On My Life
I am now living in my fifth decade on this planet, but in hindsight it is my impression and experience that human progress is extremely slow. Why? Have you ever wondered?
A Very Brief Look Back In History
The great Renaissance and its humanism is now more than 600 years behind us.
The Age of Enlightenment is now about 250 years old, but human progress is still extremely slow.
The truly amazing Golden Age of Philosophy in Greece, India, and China (Aristotle, Plato, Socrates and others; Buddhism, Ashoka, Chandragupta and others; Confucius, Mencius, Laozi, Mozi and others) happened about about 300-500 years BC and human progress is still extremely slow!
Western countries are doing particularly worse compared to other countries. My focus here will be mainly on Western countries.
Human Progress Defined
Ideals of human progress:
Reality Shock
We still live in an age where:
Collectivism largely dominates or even represses human progress
Central governments dominate local and regional governments
Considerable ignorance, prejudice, and superstition are bliss for way too many contemporary humans
Too many individuals are unwilling to learn from history or reduce their ignorance
Too many individuals have way too much faith in the salvation by big government
Physical violence and grossly uncivilized behavior (incivility) is still a major influence on our daily lives. Mob violence or intimidation is still encouraged instead of universally condemned and punished
Is civilization indeed still only a thin veneer?
To what extent is Thomas Hobbes Leviathan still relevant in our time?
Why is the Pretense of Knowledge (Friedrich Hayek) still so widely prevalent among our contemporaries?
Why is it still so difficult to correct or check the arrogance of power?
Major Causes
One Important Lesson Of History
“Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it” (George Santayana)
It is very long past high time to privatize the education of our children so that they may finally have a better chance to learn a much less distorted history of humanity!
Our elected representatives (often incompetent, lifelong career politicians) would not get away with many of their absurd policies if the citizens were better educated and willing to assume responsibility in public office!
The truly amazing Golden Age of Philosophy in Greece, India, and China (Aristotle, Plato, Socrates and others; Buddhism, Ashoka, Chandragupta and others; Confucius, Mencius, Laozi, Mozi and others) happened about about 300-500 years BC and human progress is still extremely slow!
Western countries are doing particularly worse compared to other countries. My focus here will be mainly on Western countries.
Human Progress Defined
Ideals of human progress:
- More individual liberty
- More individual self reliance
- More individual responsibility for oneself and other humans, animals, plants, and nature
- To Live By The Golden Rule
- Charity and tolerance towards other living creatures
Reality Shock
We still live in an age where:
Collectivism largely dominates or even represses human progress
Central governments dominate local and regional governments
Considerable ignorance, prejudice, and superstition are bliss for way too many contemporary humans
Too many individuals are unwilling to learn from history or reduce their ignorance
Too many individuals have way too much faith in the salvation by big government
Physical violence and grossly uncivilized behavior (incivility) is still a major influence on our daily lives. Mob violence or intimidation is still encouraged instead of universally condemned and punished
Is civilization indeed still only a thin veneer?
To what extent is Thomas Hobbes Leviathan still relevant in our time?
Why is the Pretense of Knowledge (Friedrich Hayek) still so widely prevalent among our contemporaries?
Why is it still so difficult to correct or check the arrogance of power?
Major Causes
- Misguided and presumptuous elites rule
- Big government usurped, standardized, and monopolized the education of our children about 160 years ago
- Big government usurped and monopolized money
- Big government grows and expands incessantly without necessary and sufficient checks and balances
- Incompetent, elitist career politicians impose an ever larger welfare state and ever more laws and regulations on the rest of the common man and woman
One Important Lesson Of History
“Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it” (George Santayana)
It is very long past high time to privatize the education of our children so that they may finally have a better chance to learn a much less distorted history of humanity!
Our elected representatives (often incompetent, lifelong career politicians) would not get away with many of their absurd policies if the citizens were better educated and willing to assume responsibility in public office!
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