Taking the Wrong Road.

Over the last couple of decades the scope of technology has grown at a staggering rate. But I think it’s come at a price. Never have I heard as many complaints about things breaking down or not working correctly as I do now. And I’m no exception to that trend. It seems that all the development effort is being put into widening horizons, rather than into making those things we already have function better. So we have more gadgets, but they don’t work as well. This strikes me as yet another example of getting the balance wrong, and is another source of increasing stress in the modern world. The extension of technology doesn’t make people any happier. We don’t miss what hasn’t been invented yet, and we simply take for granted the things we have.

It goes without saying that this is largely the result of the modern world being driven by an aggressive, free market economy obsessed with economic growth. It doesn’t matter if things don’t work well because there’s a better version, or something new to replace it altogether, just about to come onto the market. The problem is that the ‘improved’ version probably won’t work any better than the old one did. In fact, it might well be worse. And we can take it as almost guaranteed that it won’t last as long. It isn’t supposed to. But it will have more buttons. There is no place for stability or durability in a world driven by naked profit.

And this, I think, is another reason why the bedrock of so-called civilised culture is slipping inexorably into quicksand.

I’m beginning to wonder whether the modern human is the stupidest creature that has ever lived on this earth. Or should we blame every generation that has come along since one strand of the human race felt they could do better than live in harmony with nature? Is that what Shakespeare meant when he said ‘and all our yesterdays have lighted fools the way to dusty death?’

Maybe I’m exaggerating. Maybe I'll post a funny story tomorrow.