A few words about the cartoon

The cartoon I referenced in a previous post has caused some confusion and/or consternation. Just to be clear, my comments (and i believe the cartoon) were directed towards people that “miss” the simpler times before industrialization and capitalism or romanticize living in a tribe in a jumgle. Life sucked back then, everything was a chore, and there were very few options. On top of that, people died really young despite “clean living.” I think that all of us (including myself thank you) take what we have for granted and by wishing for a simpler life inadvertently wish away all of the great things that have come with progress (powered by capitalism). Longer lives have to be at the top of the list of advancements, but not scrounging for food, lots of options of how we want to live, having kids because you want them instead of them being a necessity, and all of the free time we have are among the other great things that have come at the “expense” of subsistence living and dying young. People sometimes complain about the “evils” of modern living, but living in the US today is a lot easier than it was in 1950, 1900, or 1850 let alone before industrialization. It’s important to understand what fuels this improvement over time and what impedes it. Even France is coming around to recognizing this, witness the new president and his reforms (longer work week, easier to hire/fire people, etc.) France understands that they are (and have been) stifling innovation and productivity. In short, they have been stifling progress. Progress is why we live better than cavemen, and until capitalism took over from feudalism, people didn’t live much differently than cavemen. Capitalism and progress are inexorably linked, this is shown again and again in countries all over the world. The US has been one of the few that have kept this in mind, many others have not and they have suffered mightily. I think the cartoon is a lot more concise than I am:-)