CMV: By 2050, you'll be looking back at 2023 as the good old days.

This is a throwaway account. I'm a professor who teaches at a university in Asia. I have spent some time in Europe as well as in the US, and I have lived and worked in Asia for several years.<br><br>In 2015-2016, I spent a year working in the Middle East. To put it in a nutshell, the Middle East in 2015 was the very antithesis of what people mean by the term "good old days". Things were cheap, but the quality of life was terrible. In principle, the university where I worked had a Western standard of living, but in reality, we faced numerous issues that you don't face in 2023 in any Western country: no freedom of speech, terrible bureaucracy, horrible working conditions, etc.<br><br>When I came back to Asia after my one-year contract in the Middle East had expired, I had the distinct feeling that I was coming "home": everything was so familiar, so hassle-free, so enjoyable. I was finally back in a place with a certain standard of living.<br><br>I'm afraid that by 2050, you'll be looking back at 2023 as the good old days.<br><br>If you live in Europe or in the US, you have enjoyed an unprecedented level of safety and prosperity for the past 70+ years. The last time Europe was at war was in the 1990s in Yugoslavia. The last time the US was at war was in 1812. (Yes, the US has been at war *somewhere* for the past 70 years, but not *on* its soil).<br><br>If you live in Europe or in the US, you enjoy more freedoms than most people in the world. You can more or less say whatever you want, do whatever you want, and live however you want. There are some limits, but -- in comparison with the rest of the world -- there are very few limits indeed.<br><br>And yet, there's the feeling that things are getting worse. Student loans, inflation, political polarization, climate change, immigration: there are numerous issues that can only get worse, and there's no easy solution in sight.<br><br>This is what I keep telling my students. I teach in a country that's a US ally, but the general feeling is that the US is in decline and that China is in the ascendant. My students ask me about the US, and I tell them that, in my opinion, the US is in decline. It's not an irreversible decline, but it's a decline nonetheless.<br><br>If you live outside of Asia, you may not be aware of how deep the rot goes. I do not think that our institutions are necessarily better than yours, but we do not face the same social problems that you face. Our biggest problem is how to deal with a population that's getting older and older. I'm not saying that this isn't a problem, but -- all things considered -- this is an enviable position.<br><br>Climate change is another issue. I'm not a specialist, but what I do know is that some Asian countries are very vulnerable indeed, and that this vulnerability will only increase going forward. Once again, I'm not saying that this isn't a problem, but -- all things considered -- this is an enviable position, since you basically face no vulnerability whatsoever. (Yes, I know that the US Southwest is becoming drier and drier; and yes, I know that Florida and Louisiana are vulnerable to hurricanes and rising sea levels. Once again, I'm not saying that this isn't a problem, but -- all things considered -- this is an enviable position indeed).<br><br>Overall, I think that the West is in decline, and I do not think that this decline can be stopped anytime soon. By 2050, you'll be looking back at 2023 as the good old days.<br><br> discussion thread.