“We live in progress”
We spoke to economic philosopher Anders Indset about the human condition in modern civilisation. New technologies promise progress, but require new perspectives in the human development process in order to be accepted in today's society. How do we achieve this?
Mr Indset, do you have to be an optimist if you want to try to improve the state of the world?
Anders Indset: Negativism is the wrong mental attitude for this; there isn’t enough pressure to initiate necessary changes if this is the case. But naive optimists are just as unconvincing in this respect. Such a mindset can have a positive effect, but it doesn’t have to. The general rule is: if the pain is great enough, people can achieve the impossible .
Aside from great pain, as you call it, is there anything else that would make it possible?
Anders Indset: What we need to make positive changes in general is a possibilistic approach. By harnessing the power of new technologies, and the creative freedom that is so important to us humans, we have a good chance of building a better future.
You hear it all the time: we were already living in the best of all possible worlds. Is there anything you like about this bold statement?
Anders Indset: Absolutely. Historically speaking, we are living longer than ever. Never in human history have fewer people died from poverty or in wars compared to the entire global population statistically.
You're talking about Western civilisation?
Anders Indset: No, I mean in general. The poverty rate in Africa’s poorest regions has also declined sharply, by about 50 percent in recent decades. Advances in science and medicine have greatly increased children’s chances of survival. Fifty years ago, in Africa, four out of seven newborns were not expected to survive beyond infancy, but today they do. This is another reason why the population of Central and West Africa, one of the few regions in the world, is growing rapidly and is forecast to grow even further.
