I agree that if we re-ran history, we’d see significant variations, but I don’t think I have any reason to think our current trajectory is particularly better than others would be.
For example, worlds where empires with very different moral foundations than the British/ American could easily have led to a more egalitarian view of economics, or a more holistic view of improving the world far earlier. And some seemingly small changes such as persistence of pork taboos, or adoption of anti-beef and vegetarian lifestyles as a moral choice don’t seem to lead to worse outcomes.
But I agree that it’s an interesting question for historians, and I’d love to see someone do a conference and anthology of papers on the topic.
I agree that if we re-ran history, we’d see significant variations, but I don’t think I have any reason to think our current trajectory is particularly better than others would be.
For example, worlds where empires with very different moral foundations than the British/ American could easily have led to a more egalitarian view of economics, or a more holistic view of improving the world far earlier. And some seemingly small changes such as persistence of pork taboos, or adoption of anti-beef and vegetarian lifestyles as a moral choice don’t seem to lead to worse outcomes.
But I agree that it’s an interesting question for historians, and I’d love to see someone do a conference and anthology of papers on the topic.