via Bloomberg
There are two main points to take from this graph.
1. Change is happening faster – that much is obvious.
2. Compassion is changing. This one’s a little harder to discern, but either:
a) Our ‘circle of compassion’ is expanding to include more people who aren’t like us, or
b) Our ‘circle of social tyranny’ is shrinking as we get less and less comfortable with telling people what to do
A & B are similar in the short term, but the longer term implications of each are very different. A leads us towards a more compassionate society in which we treat intelligent animals, then complex life systems, then less intelligent animals, then life in general with more respect as time goes on. In which case expect to see a lot more animal rights, Mother Earth rights / ecocide laws etc.
B leads to a respect and liberty for the individual, but only the individual. If we reduce society to a function where our main role is to leave each other alone, which doesn’t seem to be healthy.
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