One of the worst offenders of making claims without citing any sources I've seen in months. This article is rubbish.
It is not standard procedure for newspapers and magazines to name or even link sources. That’s sad, but that’s how it is.
Sure it would be nice if they linked to sources, but that's not the standard for articles like this in newspapers like this.
Viewed in terms of what really are some of humanity's big goals - reducing poverty, warfare and disease - we are living in a wonderful time. Unfortunately, the article soft-pedals the environmental stuff a bit.
Gaza? Congo? Yemen? Pakistan? Mali? Columbia?
... I can't be bothered to finish typing the list
I'm not trying to minimise things, and I understand that those who face state violence have a rough time of it. But taken as a proportion of humanity as a whole, war is at an all-time low. That is something to celebrate.
I do not support wars. That said, it's easy to lose sight of the fact that the Iraq war killed less people than the Vietnam War, which in turn killed less people than WW2.
A mere 70 years ago, my country was occupied by some of the most brutal oppressors in the world. Now, our biggest problem is that we eat too much food. Most of my fellow countrymen will never have to know what it's like to be starving, to have our homes destroyed, our family members enslaved or worse.
It truly is something to celebrate.
It's an editorial, not an Arxiv paper.
Neurotypicals do stuff like this, fuzzy and emotional; it's not all numbers for them.