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Max Roser, Oxford Martin School

Some good news for a Sunday morning: The world is becoming a better place

It’s not all that bad.

PEOPLE LOVE TO complain about how horrible everything is all the time.

And there are certainly plenty of horrible things to complain about. People are mean, for example. And people get sick. And there are horrible accidents and injustices and tragedies and unfairness everywhere. And there is Ebola.

People who love to complain about how horrible everything is also love to point out that the world is always changing — and change is of course always horrible, because it destroys the way things used to be.

It’s nice to sometimes remind ourselves that some things — many things, in fact — are getting better all the time.

Over at the Oxford Martin School, Max Roser has put together a provocative article and presentation titled “It’s a cold hard fact: Our world is becoming a better place.”

Take violent war deaths, for example. Even one is too many.

On average, the number of violent war deaths worldwide is declining:

screen shot 2014-10-28 at 4.18.47 pm Max Roser, Oxford Martin School Max Roser, Oxford Martin School

And poverty is improving. There are still billions of depressingly poor people, of course. But the percent of the world’s population living in extreme poverty continues to decline:

screen shot 2014-10-28 at 4.38.58 pm (1) Max Roser, Oxford Martin School Max Roser, Oxford Martin School

And life expectancies are going through the roof.

screen shot 2014-10-28 at 4.42.53 pm Max Roser, Oxford Martin School Max Roser, Oxford Martin School

There are thousands of examples like that.

So complain all you want about how horrible everything is. There’s certainly a lot left to fix. But as you complain, remember:

The world is getting better all the time.

- Henry Blodget

Read: Ireland really is the best small country in the world to do business* >

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    Mute Mark Mccormack
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    Sep 22nd 2019, 8:24 AM

    Future growth me back side… Selling for development and massive profit.

    148
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    Mute Tim Pot
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    Sep 22nd 2019, 8:32 AM

    @Mark Mccormack:

    #savethebusdepot

    Why not both, it would probably be in the public good.

    57
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    Mute Garreth Mc Mahon
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    Sep 22nd 2019, 8:46 AM

    @Tim Pot: residents would complain as the depot is 24hr

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    Mute Belebop
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    Sep 22nd 2019, 9:12 AM

    @Mark Mccormack: it’s a protected structure, cannot be redeveloped.

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    Mute Mark Mccormack
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    Sep 22nd 2019, 10:08 AM

    @Belebop: land can

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    Mute In my opinion
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    Sep 22nd 2019, 9:16 AM

    Another suggestion would be to sell the Donnybrook garage. That’s a prime site waiting to be snapped up.

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    Mute Rochey77
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    Sep 22nd 2019, 9:09 AM

    It’d be a beautiful hub for the community, maybe a market, foodhall, gallery, performance space – right beside the TUD campus

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    Mute Attilio
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    Sep 22nd 2019, 9:35 AM

    @Rochey77: lovely idea!

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    Mute Connor Kelly
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    Sep 22nd 2019, 9:51 AM

    Land right beside a college and city centre. Be bought by developers and yet more overpriced student aparthotels knocked up

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    Mute Paul Maguire
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    Sep 22nd 2019, 9:45 AM

    Get rid off Busaras it’s an eyesore

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    Mute Dr. X (Official Continuity Faction)
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    Sep 22nd 2019, 10:27 AM

    @Paul Maguire: No it’s good actually.

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    Mute Fionnbarra O Nuallain
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    Sep 22nd 2019, 11:29 AM

    More FG selling off state assets

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    Mute Fionnbarra O Nuallain
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    Sep 22nd 2019, 11:31 AM

    More selling off of state assets by FG

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    Mute Paolo Chookeenee
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    Sep 22nd 2019, 1:56 PM

    The Broadstone building with its glorious neoclassical colonnade, substantial floorspace and prominent location (now also with two luas stops and the new elegant Grangegorman campus at its doorstep) should be finely restored and used for international exhibitions or other major cultural uses/events.

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    Mute Tom
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    Sep 22nd 2019, 4:27 PM

    @Paolo Chookeenee: would have been nice if the Luas stop was better integrated.

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    Mute Connor Kelly
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    Sep 22nd 2019, 9:54 AM

    Land right beside a college and city centre yet more overpriced student aparthotels nobody can afford getting built

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    Mute Martin Hoey
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    Sep 22nd 2019, 4:26 PM

    broadstone is been redeveloped by dublin bus at the moment for reopening bus eireann needs extra room for larger and larger coaches a new busarus and broadstone built along the m50 with good transport links to luas rail and dublin bus services is required possibly close to the airport area

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