[ripb]

>The Internet is enabling a government of the people for the first time since our population exploded in the last century.

Is that you, Obama? What is this nonsense?

>Things are bad right now, but they're getting better.

Things - socially, politically and economically - are continuing to get worse for the average person.

What world are you living on?

[Shog9]

You're both trading slogans and saying nothing. What "things" are bad / improving / getting worse? Access to shelter? Food? Medicine? Where?

Even anecdotes are better than this nonsense. Here's one for you: even the poorest people I know, those without regular shelter, have access to communication services that would've been prohibitively expensive a generation ago, allowing them to find assistance when "things" - lack of food and shelter, for instance - get really bad.

[jasonjei]

> What world are you living on?

Before asking OP what world OP is living on, perhaps you should ask that of yourself before trolling others. This isn't reddit or Slashdot.

I would beg to differ that things getting worse. I would much rather live in a world where the Internet exists and information flows relatively freely than 50 years ago where information was controlled by a few world leaders. Living and work conditions sucked 100 years ago for many people. Things, on the whole, have gotten better.

[zak_mc_kracken]

Literacy and education have never been as high as they are today.

Poverty and sickness rates have never been as low as they are today.

Sure, there's a lot of room for improvement but it's undeniable that over the past century, humanity as a whole has been getting a lot better year after year.

[dang]

> What is this nonsense?

> What world are you living on?

This breaks the HN guidelines twice: it's uncivil and unsubstantive. You could make it a much better comment by taking the substantive sentence ("Things...") and following up with some concrete reasons.

[debacle]

> Is that you, Obama?

Don't be so shrill.

> Things - socially, politically and economically - are continuing to get worse for the average person.

Things are actually improving socially and politically. Scandals are being brought to light and quashed to a point where even untouchable edifices of the US hegemony are feeling the heat. Anti-vaxxers are on the outs. Climate deniers are on the outs. We're seeing the error in imprisoning millions of men because of racism. Factories in China are under scrutiny and almost every nation has an eye on ecology and our impact on the world. Birth rates are slowing, people are calling for more liberal policies across the world.

Economically, the middle class is finally being addressed. Basic income is on the table. There's an understanding that social safety and education are incredibly important.

But there is a lot of entrenched bullshit. And old money is nervous and reactionary. It's going to take a long time, but I believe very strongly that if we have the Internet of today for the next ten to twenty years, the entire world is going to look far more progressive than it ever could have without the Internet.