Sometimes I think that Mankind as a whole is on the right track as shocking things we held to be true and moral are not anymore and as globally violence is decreasing. I found this train of thought in a book I read last year, Conscious Capitalism.
Here are some extracts of that book :
One indication of our rising consciousness is that many practices that we found acceptable in the past are unthinkable today… 150 years ago, slavery was widely accepted by a large number of people around the world… 100 years most people thought it acceptable to deny women the right to vote…50 years ago, most people accepted racial segregation as a way of life…40 years ago, few people knew much or cared about environmental issues..
One key indicator of rising consciousness is declining violence. As Steven Pinker documents in his recent book, the present era is ” less violent, less cruel and more peaceful” than any other in human history. ” There is less violence in families, in neighborhoods, and among countries. The probability of dying violently, through war, terrorism, attacks by animals, or murder, is lower than any time previously.
(…) Values like nurturing relationships, and compassion are ascendant throughout society.
(…) Of course, we still have plenty of room for improvement.
Page 29 and 30.
While the latter argument can be debated, one just has to read the news to wonder if global violence is actually receiding, the former is a string of hard facts :
Slavery has gone, Women rights are progressing, segregation has gone – racism is also on its way, or at least I want to believe – and enviromental consciousness is indeed increasing.
So, for once, let us be hopeful.