2017 was the best year in the history of mankind - in spite of Trump

[gpatt0n]

Yep, this topic is not about Donald Trump and the article referenced only mentioned him in passing.

That is because what is happening worldwide really has little to do with the inane and oft unfounded fears and taunts of the genius from Queens (who has yet to recognize this progress, much less contribute to it.)

The article is here: Link and following is an excerpt

We all know that the world is going to hell. Given the rising risk of nuclear war with North Korea, the paralysis in Congress, warfare in Yemen and Syria, atrocities in Myanmar and a president who may be going cuckoo, you might think 2017 was the worst year ever.

But you’d be wrong. In fact, 2017 was probably the very best year in the long history of humanity.

A smaller share of the world’s people were hungry, impoverished or illiterate than at any time before. A smaller proportion of children died than ever before. The proportion disfigured by leprosy, blinded by diseases like trachoma or suffering from other ailments also fell.

We need some perspective as we watch the circus in Washington, hands over our mouths in horror. snip

Every day, the number of people around the world living in extreme poverty (less than about $2 a day) goes down by 217,000, according to calculations by Max Roser, an Oxford University economist who runs a website called Our World in Data. Every day, 325,000 more people gain access to electricity. And 300,000 more gain access to clean drinking water.

That compares to the time in my youth when we had things pretty good here but the rest of the world half the people were illiterate and nearly 40 percent were in abject poverty.

 

It should be observed that the difference between 40 years ago and today was the world's leadership - America's leadership - that made the difference and it is that 'world order' and the institutions that our leadership created that is being destroyed by the far right and Trumpism.

 

Those institutions never were perfect and would never be perfect but they were 'on the right road,' on the road toward progress. I don't think that can be said to be the case today.

 

pubby