Last fall, a little-discussed report issued by the UN noted that human development had fallen in 90 percent of countries for two consecutive years, a decline unprecedented in more than three decades (https://reliefweb.int/report/world/global-humanitarian-overview-2023-enaresfr). We may be familiar with the chatter about the “decline of the West”: it tends to be the prerogative of the “reactionary” Right, which variously blames moral decay, multiculturalism and the re-evaluation of European history for our downfall. But it is not the fault of minority rights, diversity or recognition of Western crimes (please also read the analysis entitled “The Growth Rate of the Global Economy is Slowing Down“).
The economic system that brought insecurity on a massive scale
A large percentage of the citizens of the West believe that the economic system that was implemented for decades and promised personal freedom, has caused insecurity on a massive scale, and it is this that has affected societies in every possible way, from the emotional and physical well-being of citizens to the their material conditions.
For example, today there is a drop in life expectancy unprecedented since WWII in many English communities and years before Covid reaches British shores. Meanwhile, in the US, life expectancy fell from nearly 79 in 2019 to 76 two years later – the biggest drop in a century.
Addictions, depression and suicides on the rise on both sides of the Atlantic
On the other side of the Atlantic, the suicide rate skyrocketed by 30% in the first 20 years of the 21st century. As the war on drugs has escalated, so have deaths from substance abuse: in the US, they have risen exponentially since the 1970s, contributing to falling life expectancy, while in Britain they have reached their highest level since records began .
Karl Marx once described religion as the “sigh of the oppressed creature”, today this is more of an apt description of drug addiction, driven by the self-medication of those afflicted with trauma and misery.
Indeed, it’s hard to disentangle it from a global jump in depression, which rose by nearly a fifth between 2005 and 2015 and has also skyrocketed among US teenagers.
The “Bronze Era” replaced the “Golden Era“
Looking at the wreckage left behind by mankind’s bloodiest war a century ago, a Western European citizen in 1945 would be pleasantly surprised to find that years of the greatest prosperity in history awaited him. The unprecedented rise in living standards in the West during the three decades after the war was such that it was dubbed the ‘Golden Age’ – for the French it was the ’30 glorious years’.
But while Britain suffered a particularly sharp fall in wages in the 2010s, wages remained stagnant across the Western world. Before the pandemic hit, the purchasing power of US workers had barely budged in four decades.
It is easy to be lulled into the illusion that tremendous progress is still being made. Computer chips are getting smaller and smaller, computer processors are getting faster, cell phones are getting more powerful.
Looking at the wreckage left behind by mankind’s bloodiest war a century ago, a Western European citizen in 1945 would be pleasantly surprised to find that years of the greatest prosperity in history awaited him.
The unprecedented rise in living standards in the West during the three decades after the war was such that it was dubbed the ‘Golden Age’ – for the French it was the ’30 glorious years’.
But while Britain suffered a particularly sharp fall in wages in the 2010s, wages remained stagnant across the Western world. Before the pandemic hit, the purchasing power of US workers had barely budged in four decades. The Bronze era has been prevailing here for years in the lives of the citizens of the West.
It is easy to be lulled into the illusion that tremendous progress is still being made. Computer chips are getting smaller and smaller, computer processors are getting faster, cell phones are getting more powerful.
Inequality and insecurity
Now, the more limited economic growth is more likely to be absorbed into the bank accounts of the gold-paid rich. Growing inequality has contributed to worsening mental health: rates of depression correlate with low income, for example.
From the intergenerational collapse of state-building to the deforestation of social care, the security that underpins a comfortable human existence has become non-existent. And yet, how little is mentioned – let alone discussed – this setback to human progress! With our civilization facing multiple existential challenges, how quickly stagnation and decline could become freefall.
Our lives are “shrinking”, our well-being is diminishing, our security is dissolving. It doesn’t take much imagination to imagine the brutal potential consequences, especially if progressive politicians fail to come up with convincing answers.
