Better for who though? the middle class white man ? I'm pretty sure if you ask anybody else or if you asked most women, the world is a lot better than 50 years ago. In your logic, then maybe it was even better 100 + years ago when women couldn't vote and colored people were openly discriminated against?
The fact is, now to make the same as you did before doing x amount of work. Now you need to do 5x to stay competative or to provide the same quality of living. Before having a post grad degree might have been a big deal, now it's pretty common to have a Bachelors Degree. The world from 50 years ago is more environmentally concious, smarter, more open to multiculturalism, and etc. Only way the world was better 50 years ago is if some people are still stuck 50 years ago when everything around them got better or improved over the years.
Bla bla bla Ed..
We are talking economics here. Not gender, race, nationality...
Economically "as a whole" western civilization is worse than 40 years ago. We cannot support a family of 4 on 1 salary.
Yes there are a few who are better off now, but they are less than 1 %.
If you think your Batchelors Degree is worth anything, you've got another thing coming. Less people have survival skills.
We weren't as environmentally aware because we didn't need to be. Environmental awareness came as a result of a crisis. It's not something we had to work towards.
If we didn't over populate the planet we wouldn't have to worry about the environment.
Multiculturalism is not new in most parts of western civilization. It is relatively new in North America.
Multiculturalism doesn't mean anything, it doesn't make anything better. It economiccally doesn't contribute to our well being.
All it does it provides, people like me, who are interested in travel and learning about different cultures an opportunity to do so.
Globalization also doesn't mean things are global, doesn't mean you can travel more, live in more places.
All it does is provides mobility to capital and those who have it.
All it did was to provide those who did business in your community an opportunity to move that business to another community to make more profit.
So now you are suddenly out of a job and you have to work more to keep your standard of living.
But things are changing I think. People are beginning to understand that your neighbour is your best friend and if you are not taking care of your neighbour you are not taking care of yourself.