Some of our greatest cultural and technological achievements took place between 1945 and 1971. Why has progress stalled?

I read this a few years back before I got into leftist stuff and wasn't able to properly diagnose the problem (neoliberalism). But I still think about this all the time.

I remember growing up and playing the Mega Man games on NES and the prologue would say that the game took place in 200X. Also all the speculative sci-fi from back then really bums me out when I see what we have today.

Here's my hot take: if it wasn't for our shitty economic system, there's no doubt in my mind that we would actually have sent people to Mars and cured a whole bunch of diseases.

If Keynesianism got us all the stuff we have so far (cuz tbh most "advances" since the 70s are really only building on stuff that was already there), imagine what a truly socialist world could produce...

  • GrandAyatollaLenin [he/him,comrade/them]
    ·
    4 years ago

    Hot take: sending people to other planets is not a good metric of scientific progress. It's like builidng a taller skyscraper. Impressive, but like, you could just not. It's a presteige project. Being willing to invest in it isn't something to necessarily be proud of.

    The USSR sent satellites into orbit. Satelite networks are the foundation of many crucial systems we rely on. The US reached the moon and it was a dramatic moment with no follow up. If it didn't happen, nothing would fundamentally change. It's the same for Mars. Any rich country wanting to show off could send someone to Mars, but there's no reason to. It's a simple matter of sending enough supplies and making a giant rocket. Even the engineering problems boil down to "hire some engineers", no big breakthroughs are needed. It's a empty milestone.

    • queenjamie [none/use name]
      ·
      4 years ago

      I get your frustration with vanity projects just to show off, but I think that something like the moon landing did generate legitimate enthusiasm. There are generations of scientists and engineers that became who they are today because they were inspired by such things. It seems like a somewhat good metric for progress if you ask me.

      And it's not just a matter of money. There are technical problems to overcome. Plus if you fuck it up then you may not get another chance at funding.