Hans is wrong. Things are getting worse.

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We have inherited a new breed of stupidity thanks to Descartes - one in which the central thesis is that we would all be better if only we could be more rational.

This idea – like all ideas – will eventually bring about its own destruction. But for the moment it wreaks havoc while it can.

I was reminded of this by a BBC Radio4 programme yesterday - 'A Small Matter of Hope' - in which the editor of a broadsheet newspaper wondered why people feel the world is getting worse - when ‘in fact’ it is getting better.

This line of argument has been popularised by people such as the late Hans Rosling and Steven Pinker, both of whom seem like decent people, but both of whom are afflicted by this distinctive type of Cartesian nonsense. In short, they don’t understand people.

Specifically, they don’t understand that people’s experience of the world has very little to do with ‘facts’. If it did, the ‘fact’ that each of us is going to die would be utterly overwhelming and none of us would be able to live as we do. No – it is precisely our ability to tell stories – stories which (as Yuval Noah Harari points out in his book ‘Sapiens’) enable us to come together as a herd, by protecting us from the facts. Stories of gods, stories of heroes, stories of a higher purpose. Stories that make us feel good about who we are, however short and brutish our lives.

So Pinker and Rosling make the same mistake: infant mortality may be declining, life expectancy increasing, average income on the rise – but none of this matters, because we are human. Humans need a narrative, and the narrative is deteriorating. Here is a (non-exhaustive) list of the things they missed:

We are more isolated from one another: people who live in communal, as opposed to individualistic, cultures tend to be happier. This is because we are social creatures, hard-wired to seek and thrive on affiliation. Isolation worsens mental health and shortens life-expectancy. Though it may seem as though we are more connected than ever, a shift to more individualistic, competitive society has left us feeling isolated and alone.

We have done catastrophic damage to our planet and other species: Rosling and Pinker are somewhat selective when it comes to ‘the facts’. It is also a fact that we have wiped countless species from the face of the earth, and created a climate catastrophe that will likely result in human suffering on an unprecedented scale. Probably in the next decade or so.

We are growing stupider: we like to think that we are getting smarter, but in reality technology has stripped us of skills and comprehension. Our roles are increasingly specialised and narrowly prescribed – we understand less and less of the world around us. We can’t build a house, fix a car, or grow our own food. The sophistication of thought and language common only a few hundred years ago is now a distant memory. Increasingly, we communicate using memes and funny facial expressions.

We are progressively more alienated from the world we have created: we are, biologically-speaking, the same apes we were 70,000 years ago – designed for small groups that hunt and gather. We have forced our minds to do things for which they are ill-suited, and this stresses us on a daily basis, in a myriad of ways. Here's a simple one: we weren't designed to sit still - in a classroom or an office - all day long.

We lack a deep sense of purpose: we have pretty much given up on the grand stories that gave us a deep sense of who we are – stories of gods, and places that we came from, and places that we go to. We are told to ‘find a sense of purpose’ - but within a world which implicitly tells us that we are defined by what we buy.

Marketing and consumer pressure work to deepen our sense of inadequacy: however much we buy, it will never be enough. It it were, capitalism would collapse. The craving for more, and the sense of emptiness on which it depends, is now the foundation of our global economy.

Media has a distorting effect on our perception of the world:

a.    increasing our sense of the bad - this is the naïve explanation most often cited by people like Rosling & Pinker – that the media focusses on negative events in order to sell newspapers, when in fact ‘the facts’ tells a different story. Though this (and the effect of cognitive bias) is true, it is hardly the most important factor.

b.    increasing our sense of relative deprivation and arming us with unrealistic expectations - whether it is TikTok, Kardashians or the X-factor we are constantly plied with the lie that we can all be an overnight success, and are - fundamentally - deserving of a celebrity lifestyle. Even LinkedIN subtly peddles the nonsense that we can all be successful entrepreneurs, CEOs or thought-leaders by the age of thirty. Instead, we constantly feel like we weren't invited to the success party.

Anger and outrage are encouraged by marketing algorithms: from the perspective of a marketing algorithm the very best content is that which forces you to respond. Outrageous, provocative content works best – at the expense of our well-being.

Identity politics is driving more division: every time you create a new ‘identity’ you create a new set of ingroup/outgroup tensions. Everybody now feels besieged on several fronts – there is more ‘us & them’ than ever before. Long gone are the days when we could all just agree to dislike the Belgians.

Our mental health is tied to our physical health: as we eat less well, and exercise less, it takes its toll on our mental well-being.

Our future seems far less certain: honestly – we have no idea what is going to happen. Will we have jobs? Will our brains be uploaded to the cloud? Will our data be sold to Russian hackers? Will we be wiped out by megastorms on Tuesday? We don’t know.

Houses are unaffordable: increasing numbers of young people are unable to afford a house of their own, even as more people gravitate to urban living.

We can’t ‘switch off’: I don’t need to tell you that. I am writing this blog at 2:27 am on a Sunday.

We are under far more pressure to pretend: platforms like Facebook and apps like FaceTune incline us to present an idealised, pretend version of ourselves to the world, increasing our awareness of the gap between our real lives, and the one we would like to have.

Relationships are shorter and more superficial: the ‘on demand’ zeitgeist has extended as far as our relationships – it seems we no longer lack the skills or selflessness required to build deep and lasting relationships. Swipe left.

Our potential to destroy ourselves has grown exponentially: climate change aside, we are all aware that humanity’s potential to eradicate itself at the drop of a hat is now growing at an alarming rate – whether that threat is Russian hackers, AI, malicious biotech, or nuclear disaster.

We feel less in control: it is unclear whether our feeling or loss of control is a deliberate political strategy originating in the Russian avant-garde movement, or just a side-effect of exposure to overwhelming geopolitical complexity. Frankly, I am not even sure who is controlling the computer on which I type this document.

I don’t mean to be gloomy. Like Hans and Steven, I wish we could all just enjoy life while it lasts. I just don’t think ‘focussing on the facts’ is the best way to do that. As a strategy, it's a bit like telling a depressed person to count their blessings and 'cheer up'. Instead, I recommend focussing on the present and on all the little things that we can savour: the sound of birdsong, the strength to go for a walk, a hot cup of coffee. After all, we may all be dead tomorrow (fact).

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