Life in most places has improved dramatically - literacy, healthcare and life expectancy, human rights, access to food... Nearly nobody is living lives that are &quot;fundamentally as bad as they were 40 years ago&quot;.<p>There are literally millions of people worldwide, who are healthy, or married, or well nourished, or spending more time with their families, for whom it could not have been possible 40 years ago. I don&#x27;t think that warrants a flippant, self-righteous attitude.