Billionaire Bill Gates – Photo: BILL AND MELINDA FOUNDATION
Even with the challenges facing current and future generations, billionaire Bill Gates says anyone born in the next few decades will be better off than those born any time ago in the future. history. Gates said in an interview January 23 at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, Australia.
Mr. Gates also noted that the world is full of unsuccessful operations. For example, the inadequate global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, governments falling short of targets set out to tackle climate change, and growing political polarization in the US.
Bill Gates says pessimists miss the big picture: “In my opinion, it’s easier to take a more negative view of some of the trends that are going on than it is to take a really fair view. “.
Mr. Gates points to advances in public health. He noted that the global mortality rate for children under the age of five has halved over the past two decades.
According to him, the amount of innovation to improve the overall human condition will still be enormous. “We’ll cure obesity, we’ll cure cancer, and we’ll eliminate polio,” Gates said.
Billionaire Bill Gates also praised the potential of cheap and efficient green energy technology in recent years. Technological advancements allow healthcare and education workers to reach a wider population around the world.
Looking back at history, it’s clear that things are continuing to get better, he added.
Average human life expectancy has greatly improved over the past three centuries. In 1700, the average person died before the age of 40. Life expectancy today in the US is 76.1 years.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re a king or a pauper, you suffer from a very high infant mortality rate and an extremely low literacy rate,” Gates said. So the extent of human innovation over time is an extraordinary story.”
Billionaire Gates’ comments echo a similar view expressed by billionaire Charlie Munger in 2022. Mr. Munger argued: “Everybody is five times better than before.”
Mr. Gates noted that innovation does not guarantee positive results: The development of science and technology can lead to dangerous advances, like nuclear weapons or bioterrorism.
“Modernity also comes with some risks,” he said. But overall, I’m extremely optimistic.”
In October, a Gallup Poll found that only 42% of Americans believe today’s youth will have a “better standard of living” than their parents.
That number is 18 percent lower than in 2019 and tied for the lowest level of optimism in about three decades, based on similar Gallup polls in the past.