I really can't get into "the gold old days" type of argument. By most metrics, globally there is less war, better global healthcare, less poverty, and more democratic societies. Globally, communications and travel are unprecedented. I went to Australia and used my ATM card *from a local credit union* and had no out of network fees. Woot.
We are facing ecotastrophy, which is well within our hands to stave off. We are also facing a rise in global authoritarianism and religious fundamentalism. A crisis in energy we've ignored since the 70's. Global security issues if any of these things go sideways. But they are theoretically within our capability to handle.
