[gmueckl]

Your focus on consumer gadgets is incredibly narrow and overlooks so many other things where innovation happens and brings true progress to the world.

Also, you can't stop human curiosity and the drive to improve and compete. There has always been progress in arts, science and technology throughout history, no matter what political or theological system reigned at that time.

[coldtea]

>Your focus on consumer gadgets is incredibly narrow and overlooks so many other things where innovation happens and brings true progress to the world.

I find the world worse than 30 years ago, so I'm doubtful about this "true progress". Our progress is just moving along without a clear goal.

>Also, you can't stop human curiosity and the drive to improve and compete.

You can cut off the economic motives for those things, which turn them from a human thing into an inhuman cut-throat compulsion.

[dractori]

In what ways is the world worse? "So why does it feel like the world is in decline? I think it is partly the nature of news coverage. Bad news arrives as drama, while good news is incremental—and not usually deemed newsworthy." http://time.com/5086870/bill-gates-guest-editor-time/