“The best of all possible worlds”
Dr Pangloss in Voltaire’s Candide uttered these words. It was a satirical statement then and would appear to be the same now, with the Coronavirus threatening the world, miserable folks attempting to escape wars, war lords and drug cartels, income inequality, political divisiveness and so forth.
However, two recent books, one by Steven Pinker an American and the other by Hans Rosling, a Swedish pediatrician and international analyst suggest a different scenario. That is, the world has never been better. They have carefully analyzed data and have the facts to back it up.
People are living longer, child mortality is decreasing, there are fewer people living in poverty, more folks have a source of water and electricity, violent crime is down, and there are fewer wars. Because of vaccines fewer children have childhood disease-of course the crippler polio has nearly been defeated, thanks to Rotary and The World Health Organization.
Don’t take my word for it, read the books. Nevertheless, that doesn’t mean we should not fail to address real problems. There are pockets of poverty in the US and in developing countries that need help.
However, Rotarians with their 6 areas of focus are continuing in their efforts to make the world a better place, and we should be proud to be a part of this.
Chuck