Despite the gloomy picture that has been painted, not all is bad. I do believe that the establishment has contributed at least couple of positive things to society.
In the West we live in a fairly civil society where we have a rule of law. Modern Western societies are fairly predictable and we do not have to worry about whether we’ll go hungry or whether a mob will turn on us and kill us. That is unlike many other parts of the world where for many, obtaining basic necessities is an ongoing challenge. We live in times that believe it or not are relatively peaceful. In spite of the negative media programming on both the local and national levels concerning the levels of crime and violence in our world today, there is strong evidence that overall violence has declined persistently over the last centuries. Yes we do have the current War on Terror in the Middle East as well as the numerous drug related wars across Central and South America but overall the world has been getting more peaceful. A lot of that is due to globalization and a world that is becoming increasingly capitalistic, which encourages free trade and rapport with neighbors. There hasn’t been a civil war fought in the US in over 150 years. Western Europe has not experienced war since WWII and there hasn’t been a major conflict fought in East Asia in over 30 years. No longer do most of us have to worry about the next tribal conflict or whether our loved ones will arrive home safely after the most recent battle.
source: www.marginalrevolution.com
Despite the numerous problems we have in our society, globally the standards of living are at the highest levels ever and most of that has to do with the relative free-markets. We live in a time of more conveniences than ever before. No longer do most of us have to worry about whether we’ll have enough to eat or whether our children will survive infancy. Modern Western society is also polite and there are strong protocols in place to protect people from prejudice and discrimination.
