Has progress made society and the world better?
Often, after a turbulent day in the unforgiving urban life, we slow down and wonder about the ancient times, awing at the blissful serenity it held, concluding that the past was far more placid than the present bustling modern way of life. But after departing from this school of thoughts, we realize that this habit of admiring the tranquillity of previous eras is no more than an aggressive exhibition of our swelling restlessness. And after analyzing the history of human life, we comprehend and acknowledge that those silent early times had their challenges which were in reality, far greater than ours. In those times, the infant mortality rate was higher than ever, they had shorter life spans, lesser control on their environment and numerous diseases. In contrast, now we have sophisticated medical technology and med-experts that has enabled us to find cures of those diseases due to which pre-historic humans died before even discovering their names. Man elevated his standard of living by gradually gaining control over his surroundings. Man first understood the power of fire and learned to control it, later he fathomed the ability to speak, read and write which sparked the flame of education, individuals and families formed into tribes and as centuries passed by, these tribes shaped into societies, and from the womb of society, the dignified child of “social norms” was born. As a result of this chain process, man elevated his standard of living by gradually gaining control over his surroundings.
Discussing human life, let’s talk about the most fundamental need of man, water. It is easy to forget that the quest to obtain and secure water has been one of the most defining struggles of human history. Through the vast course of history, one can observe that the civilizations which harnessed water, thrived. The ones that failed, collapsed. Along with water scarcity and uneven distribution of water, another perilous problem faced by humanity was water contamination. For centuries, humans unknowingly polluted the natural drinking water resources with raw sewage, later collecting water from that same contaminated source for household purposes, and all of this eventually led to diseases such as cholera and typhoid which were considered irremediable maladies during that point in time as the cure for it was yet to be found. The gradual development in the water sector widely solved the complicated issues of equal water distribution, water security and performed the Herculean task of delivering it safely to the masses by introducing and implementing different methods and strategies like laying pipelines, construction of mega-dams to store the excess rainwater, filtering the water, adding anti-bacterial chemicals to achieve maximum purification and a lot more. The most revolutionary advancement carried out by the water sector that has forever transformed the way of consuming water is access to groundwater. Many decades ago, the only source of water available for consumption was surface waters like lakes, rivers, wells etc. But as the global population was expanding these resources were nearing permanent extinction. Fortunately, before it was too late, we developed machinery that allowed us to pump the untouched groundwater sealed in aquifers for millions of years. The discovery of this reliable source which would last us decades is the reason why the citizens of the 21st century are living in an aquatic paradise, where for the majority, water is available with an effortless turn of a faucet, anytime, as much as required.
After water, another facility which is now officially dubbed as a basic human right by the UN and our ultra-modern lives revolve around it is the technology and especially the Internet. A hundred years back, before the much-anticipated arrival of futuristic technology, when the existence of touch-screens and the Internet was a distant dream, access to knowledge was restricted to physical books in libraries, communication majorly depended on slow and costly technologies like telegram and post-letters and the only source to obtain national and international news was radio. Fast forward to a hundred years and mankind is dwelling in a world congested with all kinds of tech gadgets. There is not a string of doubt in the fact that technology and the internet, like all previous revolutions, has altered the course of history and humanity but in a uniquely progressive and beneficial manner. Not only it has made life easier but also faster, productive and enjoyable. Technology has filled the decades’ long communication gap with a smooth swipe on a mobile screen, it has demolished the physical restrictions to education and made knowledge available on a single click, given freedom of expression to people from all walks of life, especially to the underprivileged groups who have been deprived of this right since the earliest of times, it has modified customary and universal social norms by introducing a variety of social applications. It has remodelled the way how we look at society. The notion that modern technology and the Internet has made life easier and instead of a privilege is a basic human right is indeed an irrefutable reality, patched into the fabric of modern life.
Since the earliest times, the man travelled on foot, walking his way through all kinds of lands, then learned how to employ animals for this laborious activity, to travel through deep waters, man invented canoes and ships. Then came the ground-breaking innovation of the wheel, which transformed the world of transportation. Using the wheel, man invented carts to travel long distances and so on. As the 17th century dawned, and mankind discovered how to obtain energy from combustion and the very first engines were created, new modes of transportation such as bicycles, trains, motor cars, trucks, and trams were introduced. As years passed by, these technologies continued growing and improving. In the 20th century, the future of transportation took an extraordinary turn as the Wright brothers, drawing inspiration from a bird’s flight, invented the first aeroplane which was recognized as “the first sustained and controlled heavier-than-air flight”. Today, flying is routine, and as we have developed fast and luxurious modes for travelling, the destinations that took months and weeks to reach now require a few hours. Thus the impacts of this huge shift are huge economic booms for countries with tourist attractions, a massive increase in import and export goods, flourishing exchanges of culture and so forth. The history of travel is still being written, but we have come a very long way in a very short space of time.
When we look back and contemplate upon all the ages through which we, as a species have survived and astronomical progress achieved by mankind, we are plunged into a deep hole of confusion and astonishment. We realize that the one universal attribute that has kept man going on in this journey towards ultimate perfection is learning from the mistakes of the past and applying those lessons to improve the present. So has the journey of man towards progress made our society and world better? To state the final answer to this profound question it is necessary to define the meaning of progress. Progress is the process of redesigning and reforming to gain more control, it is the dominance of human influence on the world. The opinion that progress has elevated the human-understanding and made this world a more desirable place to dwell is doubtless, but there is also no denying the fact that progress demands sacrifices and we, the citizens of the 21st century are bleeding a remarkable portion of finite natural resources to satisfy our greed for progress. No doubt progress is positive, but it is time we identify how much progress is healthy for humanity before this blessing turns into a curse, as an excess of anything is unsound. It is our responsibility to take two steps back, retrospect and ponder upon the irreversible damage we have already done to this planet and ourselves before it’s too late because often ambitions of one generation become shackles for the next one.