Some people are optimistic about the 21st century and see it as an opportunity to make positive changes to the world. To what extent do you agree ?
There is a widespread held perception that we human beings will be better off in the 21st century, but I tend to disagree.
Admittedly, people today are having much better lives in terms of their living standards, compared to the lives a century ago. The invention of computer and the Internet has enabled both contacts between the loved ones in faraway distance and international trade. The medical advancements have saved millions of patients who suffered from illnesses which were deadly before. Most of all, the technological development has brought us so much joy and convenience, such as ipods and iphones.
However, all these above mentioned points do not justify the viewpoint that there will always be positive changes in the world. There are two reasons that support my opinion. For one thing, It is an indisputable fact that the environment on this planet is deteriorating at an alarming rate and so far there is no effective solutions. For example, the greenhouse gases, which mainly resulted from the emission from cars, or airplanes, have almost doubled during the past 20 years, despite the increasing effort made by international community. This is partly because today, a greater number of people can afford private cars and budget flight due to the more advanced technology.
For another, according to recent survey, individuals' sense of happiness is much lower than that of a hundred years ago, which is not resulted from a single cause, but a combination of several factors: the widening gap between the rich and the poor, the increasingly fierce competition in job market, and the rising living cost in big cities. Personally, I doubt there are immediate solutions to all of these problems. In fact, I tend to believe these issues will even have greater impact on people's lives in future.
To sum up, I once upon reaffirm my opinion, given all these existing problems, which are nearly impossible to be resolved in the near future, we should not be overoptimistic about the 21st century.
There is a widespread held perception that we human beings will be better off in the 21st century, but I tend to disagree.
Admittedly, people today are having much better lives in terms of their living standards, compared to the lives a century ago. The invention of computer and the Internet has enabled both contacts between the loved ones in faraway distance and international trade. The medical advancements have saved millions of patients who suffered from illnesses which were deadly before. Most of all, the technological development has brought us so much joy and convenience, such as ipods and iphones.
However, all these above mentioned points do not justify the viewpoint that there will always be positive changes in the world. There are two reasons that support my opinion. For one thing, It is an indisputable fact that the environment on this planet is deteriorating at an alarming rate and so far there is no effective solutions. For example, the greenhouse gases, which mainly resulted from the emission from cars, or airplanes, have almost doubled during the past 20 years, despite the increasing effort made by international community. This is partly because today, a greater number of people can afford private cars and budget flight due to the more advanced technology.
For another, according to recent survey, individuals' sense of happiness is much lower than that of a hundred years ago, which is not resulted from a single cause, but a combination of several factors: the widening gap between the rich and the poor, the increasingly fierce competition in job market, and the rising living cost in big cities. Personally, I doubt there are immediate solutions to all of these problems. In fact, I tend to believe these issues will even have greater impact on people's lives in future.
To sum up, I once upon reaffirm my opinion, given all these existing problems, which are nearly impossible to be resolved in the near future, we should not be overoptimistic about the 21st century.