Anyone else have a real negative view of the future of the human race?

[clevbrowns95]

After the debacle in the UK, it's pretty clear the rise of alt/right quasi fascist to full fascist governments is not really slowing down. There are bright spots (hello Canada and New Zealand), and we are about to get a very big test next November in the 2020 election, but let's just say given the economy and our horrible media, Trump has a better shot of reelection than he ever should. And it's not even purely a western/Christian majority nation issue, look at fascist Modi in India. It's not even just a right wing issue, look at the mix of Communism and authoritarianism that is China (a country that is going full Nazi on its Muslim citizens while the world sits back and does nothing).

Meanwhile, this is all happening with a pretty healthy world economy, we have record unemployment in the US, and certainly some countries aren't doing as well, but it's not like the economic crash that started in 2008 and swept across the globe. So what's going to happen when the world's economy does crash? We all just go literal Nazi? Oh, and this is all without the effects of global warming being as bad as they will be in decades. People in the western world are flipping the hell out about migrants and immigrants, which underlies a lot of right wing fascist movement and Trump/Brexit, so how are they going to react when global warming creates so many refuges, primarily from places like South America and Africa, which will be hit the hardest and first from global warming? I'm going to do my best to help with the 2020 election, so I'm not suggesting we give up by any means, but I'm really concerned for the fate of the human race at this point, more than I have been in my lifetime. Please tell me it's going to be alright...unless you agree.

 

[Buff DrinkLots]

Things are excellent right now if you actually look backwards at how shit things were before.

 

[nintendoman58]

Trump has a better shot of reelection than he ever should.

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Which polls back this up? He’s not exactly doing better than he was before in 2016.

 

[Deleted member 4367]

This is nothing new. Basically every post apocalyptic story is inherently cynical about humans and recognizes we will eventually kill the earth.

 

[mbpm]

I do, but I figure the one thing I can do is look out for me and my own.

 

[Midramble]

More of a negative view of myself for not doing more to change it.

 

[sgtnosboss]

I do, but I hope things will change. I make myself keep hope

 

[Van Bur3n]

Chill.

 

[Orayn]

Oh yeah we're completely boned. Even sudden global left-wing political success beyond my wildest dreams would be too late to stop the climate apocalypse.

 

[WascallyWabbit]

I would say most posters here have a real negative view of the human race and its future

Things are excellent right now if you actually look backwards at how shit things were before.

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But this is how I look at it

 

[Mengy]

I have a very negative view of the present human race. I hope the future is better, but I'm not sure we are going to make it that far.

 

[Chivalry]

Visit /r/collapse for all your doomsday news. We're truly fucked, my dudes.

 

[Pilgrimzero]

Might want to start collecting bottle caps, is all I’m saying.

 

[maxxpower]

As far as climate goes, I think that we'll luck out and engineer a solution that will 'magically' fix the rising levels of CO2.

 

[clevbrowns95]

Which polls back this up? He’s not exactly doing better than he was before in 2016.

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He's losing in all national polls against Democratic candidates (top candidates anyway) that I have seen, but Nate Siler suggested he could lose the popular vote by 6 million and still win the election. Here's a poll showing him beating all Democratic candidates in the key state of Wisconsin. It could be an outlier and is within the margin of error for most candidates, but is still concerning:

https://law.marquette.edu/poll/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/MLSP56Toplines.pdf

 

[Pillowtalk]

I'm just really disappointed.

 

[J2 Cool]

I would say you’re right. Been feeling it myself. If we can’t solve simple issues within our control, like bigotry, racism, healthcare, etc. How do you suppose humanity will handle its greater threats? Global warming, nuclear arms.

Feels like it will compound at some point

 

[Hasseigaku]

As someone already prone to anxiety, nothing I've seen gives me hope that the world isn't going to go ass up over the next few decades.

I envy those with hope, because I move forward out of a) spite, b) a desire to take care of my loved ones

 

[Doggg]

Yes, extremely. I think we're fucked.

 

[Torpedo Vegas]

Soon.

 

[Wyman Manderly]

We suck

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

No, we're screwed. Most people don't have the desire or capacity for long-term thinking and planning. Most people have a tendency to dislike dealing with others who are different from them as they age, and most will do anything to protect the well-being of their own children which includes protecting their privilege and wealth. Most countries are still thinking they are in competition with the others for wealth, status, "Standard of Living", etc. and as long as that's true no meaningful progress will be made on the whole energy/pollution angle. It's a real mess. Barring some outside influence (aliens coming down either friendly or hostile) I feel we are screwed. The species may not die off completely but things are going to get a lot worse. No idea on the time-frame though.

If we can’t solve simple issues within our control, like bigotry, racism

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Yeah, I don't think those are going anywhere for a long, long time. Feeling superior to others seems to be a serious flaw in the human mind, as even those who oppose these concepts seem to revel in their superiority to those who vote contrary to their goals, referring to them as stupid or scum, thereby helping to ensure these voters will never come around to their side.

 

[ShapeDePapa]

Nope. What does being so pessimistic bring to your day to day life?

 

[Won]

I have a negative view of present day humankind. No need to wait for the future, just because it can and will get even worse.

 

[Kill3r7]

We have done horrible things in our past and I am certain we will continue to do so for millennia to come. It is part of the human existence but alongside that there has been tremendous progress.

 

[Mitch]

Just go to any controversial/political thread here and you'll see a bunch of posters from the US screeching about the end of humanity

 

[Deleted member 48434]

Visit /r/collapse for all your doomsday news. We're truly fucked, my dudes.

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That sounds like a really bad idea for ones mental health

 

[Trevelyon]

My nihilism and lack of interest in wanting to procreate (which is deeply hurting my relationship atm) has never been so danm strong. I feel like I want to just drop out of this society and no longer participate in this fascist/capitalist/pole melting literal hellscape that is fast becoming the norm.

 

[Minishdriveby]

emission levels continue to increase Y/Y at a steady or increased rate. The future is going to be bleak.

 

[Muppet of a Man]

Our best bet is to focus on technological breakthroughs. If you can't count on politics, then we must count on innovation and new technologies to help the most amount of people survive and thrive.

With that being said, we must be laser-focused on preventing climate change from causing utter disaster, which would lead to massive floods of refuges and then potential disastrous effects in terms of human suffering and war.

We must stop our focus on solely communicating "awareness" and get to understanding how to actually solve these problems. Like, we must take the next step to become literate in the sciences, engineering, and technology because the human race depends on it.

Everyone should be making this their new hobby, even if they are not educated/trained scientists or engineers.

Not many people here seem to want to make this their primary focus currently. And I understand that because new technology is difficult to come to terms with, especially since we've spent so long mostly focusing on technologies around telecommunication, computing, and the internet.

We need to see past these very limiting subset of technologies. Understanding sustainable energy as the new currency of continued existence is of paramount concern.

Renewables are too limiting currently. They are good currently for variable/peak-load power supplementation, but not reliable enough for base-load power. They have their part to play, and we should continue to invest in them so that one day they may be able to reliably used for base-load power. But that day is not yet here and won't be for a good while.

Advanced Nuclear could save us, if only people could understand that it is not what they understand nuclear energy to be, but something completely new and different that doesn't have any of the same problems as old nuclear. The politics of fear and misunderstanding due to scientific illiteracy is the only thing holding us back from having a really good shot of saving the world and making it a better place.

This is a good place to start to learn about what is quietly going on behind the scenes to save the world and humanity. There are literally hundreds of startups globally vying to commercialize the first Advanced Gen IV+ Molten Salt Reactor. It is a quiet revolution taking place that the masses are almost completely unaware of:

 

[Hasseigaku]

That sounds like a really bad idea for ones mental health

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They literally have it on the sidebar that you shouldn't spend too much time there for that reason.

The problem is that once you understand the house of cards upon which our current system relies you see the potential for issues absolutely everywhere.

 

[Zelenogorsk]

I know this isn’t how one is supposed to think but it’s nice to know that one day i’ll be dead and i won’t have to deal with any of this shit. Sorry to the future generations.

I honestly think it would be for the best if humanity as a whole died off as quickly as possible. Just get it over with. The only true way to end all suffering is to have everyone die. And one day it’ll happen. So why delay the inevitable? Just get it over with. Bring on the apocalypse, i’m ready.

 

[PeskyToaster]

It's always going to be a push and a pull. Society has made strides forward which is why were seeing a conservative reaction but like a rubber band stretched too far, it never completely snaps back to its original form. Things have permanently changed for the better, never forget that.

 

[DrBorisGoltz]

I think the "we might as well all die" mentality is immature.

 

[Doggg]

I know this isn’t how one is supposed to think but it’s nice to know that one day i’ll be dead and i won’t have to deal with any of this shit. Sorry to the future generations.

I honestly think it would be for the best if humanity as a whole died off as quickly as possible. Just get it over with. The only true way to end all suffering is to have everyone die. And one day it’ll happen. So why delay the inevitable? Just get it over with. Bring on the apocalypse, i’m ready.

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As morbid as such thoughts are, I kind of agree. I hope the end is swift and not too protracted.

 

[Shining Star]

Deep breaths OP.
Everything is alright.

 

[StrayDog]

All hail the new cockroach overlords!

 

[Hasseigaku]

Advanced Nuclear could save us, if only people could understand that it is not what they understand nuclear energy to be, but something completely new and different that doesn't have any of the same problems as old nuclear. The politics of fear and misunderstanding due to scientific illiteracy is the only thing holding us back from having a really good shot of saving the world and making it a better place.

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Even if we get there as far as political will, I don't think the current nuclear energy companies are equipped to build at the capacity we need.

We probably need to like nationalize them to some degree because they clearly have had troubles getting projects done on time and on schedule as it is.

 

[coldcrush]

the media and internet plays a big part in this, I don't disagree there are terrible injustices and problems in the world but generally in most areas we are much better now in pretty much every category across the world. Does this mean we should not highlight the awful things that still exist? absolutely not, and we have to do our part to keep the trend moving forwards but on a global perspective we are doing much better. This is slightly long, and there are shorter versions to this talk but this is the crux of it, when you look at the data

 

[Muppet of a Man]

Even if we get there as far as political will, I don't think the current nuclear energy companies are equipped to build at the capacity we need.

We probably need to like nationalize them to some degree because they clearly have had troubles getting projects done on time and on schedule as it is.

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See. This is what I'm getting at.

New nuclear plants will not be designed and built, bespoke for a certain site.

They will be mass produced modularly in factories.

I don't mean to come down on you. Most everyone doesn't currently understand what is going on in the space. Please look into Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) and Molten Salt Reactors (MSRs). You will be surprised on what is possible.

There is no better alternative to saving the world from climate change than Nuclear Energy. Period.

Nuclear can literally produce so much energy nearly indefinitely to the point that we can actually synthesize our own non-fossil fuels. The cascading effects of a Nuclear economy are staggering and unprecedented. It will literally make so many of the current world problems disappear in terms of economics and opportunity.

I am not as down as many others are here because I see the thing that will save us. It is just a seedling now, but it is our hope. It needs nurturing. We need to help ourselves save ourselves by becoming educated. We need to stop being nihilistic because the answers are in front of us.

 

[Tbm24]

Not at all. As depressing and many things are. I’m raising a child and I have nothing but hope and excitement for her future.

 

[TAJ]

I'm calling the end of civilization by 2060.

 

[PennyStonks]

Legit think Global Warming and the associated conflicts will lead to a facist global government that succeeds until Humanity is gonzo

 

[Nooblet]

I mean like everything it'll build up and then switch to the other side, until that builds up and there's another switch. It's a pattern.

What instead worries me is that the inherent lack of the ability to look long term that we share as a species. Suppose in the future if we are in the face of an important species shaping issue the people will be even worse at choosing the right thing as selfishness and tribal mentality will reign. We see this now with climate change but if there is a threat that's even closer the decision making of the collective will get even worse.

 

[Piston]

I'm not super hopeful about the current situation anywhere in the world. A few have mentioned this but the human race's best chance is to walk ass-backward into technology that saves us at least somewhat in terms of climate change/sustainability and that delays out our time horizon long enough to wait out the more ignorant chaff of our population that is keeping us back policy-wise.

 

[LexingtonKruger]

Things are excellent right now if you actually look backwards at how shit things were before.

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This is something people always bring up, but I agree with Foucault.
The modern world has gotten very good at hiding it's barbarity, but it is still just as barbaric as it was in say medievel times.
People are murdered slowly through a capitalist machine. They are overworked, they are underpaid, and they are given little to no room for advancement.
Whereas in medievel times you would be murdered immediately for just being poor, today we murder you slowly.
This slow process gives the illusion of civility.

 

[Dracil]

Stop looking at just unemployment numbers. It's a red herring because of the gig economy and people having to work multiple jobs just to get by.

https://www.theguardian.com/comment...economy-us-trump-uber-california-robert-reich

It's kinda a meme whenever you look at reports of X number of new jobs but it's the same number of people being employed or people being underemployed with shorter hours even though they technically have a job.

 

[Combo]

In the short term yes, in the long run no. Education will improve.

 

[Bigboss242]

We don't have a future lets talk hospice and how to deal with the anger and grief while we can https://youtu.be/KSASEcQ22Qw

 

[Dr. Zoidberg]

Our best bet is to focus on technological breakthroughs. If you can't count on politics, then we must count on innovation and new technologies to help the most amount of people survive and thrive.

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This is where I used to hang my hope and optimism. In the 80s and 90s things were changing at such a rapid rate and advancements were coming seemingly every week. The sky was the limit and despite human failings science and technology would carry us through. But for me this last decade especially has been a real bummer on that front. Yes, there have been some advancements but they seem to just be making things a little faster, a little smaller. Interest in space travel and other tech-pushing endeavours seems to be low. I keep hoping something really revolutionary will come along but so far nothing has stuck out in my mind. Everything else is either theoretical or so far off and expensive it doesn't seem real. The big advancement of the past two decades is probably the Internet but frankly by this point I've come to believe that despite many benefits, its net impact on human society and culture is a negative one.