Bit of a rant from me this morning. There’s some real garbage spoken by some people about this and that system is broken. I’m here to make clear the world has never had it so good!

From the moment James Watt took energy from coal and powered up the industrial revolution, humans have experienced exponentially greater GDP, life expectancy, democratic participation, access to resources, and wealth than in the preceding thousand years.

GDP Boom: Picture this – the global GDP was a mere £2.1 trillion back in 1960. Fast-forward to 2019, and we’re looking at a jaw-dropping £65 trillion, as per World Bank data. That’s a stratospheric growth, largely thanks to the industrial revolution!

Surge in life expectancy: Prepare to be amazed – in 1800, the average lifespan was around 29 years. By 2016, the World Health Organisation tells us folks are living up to 72. What a leap, eh? That’s a testament to the strides we’ve made in healthcare and living standards.

Democratic Upswing: Democracies? We’ve got loads now. The Polity IV dataset shows us that while there were just a handful in the early 19th century, come the 21st century, over half of the world’s nations are democracies.

Resource Availability: The industrial revolution kicked off an era of mass production, making goods and resources accessible to the masses. For example, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, we’ve tripled global food production since 1961.

Wealth Growth: Here’s an interesting fact – in 1820, the global average income per person was a modest £375. Roll on 2010, and the global GDP per capita had skyrocketed to over £7,500, as per World Bank data. That’s a tidy increase in wealth, wouldn’t you say?

I don’t want to downplay the problems in the world, but sometimes it’s worth taking a breath to remember how good things actually are! Anyhow, today is spending a bit of time planning the next summer bike trip. This time, to Serbia!