When I was little, I used to draw a lot. Buildings and cityscapes were my preferred themes, although the occasional superhero snuck in there (I seem to remember a particular fondness for all things Batman, circa 1989). Transformers, Fraggle Rock, comics, some “in the future” book I loved to borrow from the library; I had numerous influences. But somehow, no matter what I was working on, I almost invariably managed to sneak a cityscape in somehow.
Recently I’ve been thinking about a drawing I did sometime in the late 80s. The memory is a bit hazy but I recall that, for some reason, I had decided this scene would take place in 1997. Of course, to any young kid way back then, that year seemed like a distant, wondrous future. My drawing was thus a utopian scene of flying personal vehicles, sky transportation links and cathedral spire-like glass towers among the clouds. This was a pretty slick 1997 I was imagining for myself.
Yet here we are in 2004 (even further into the future!), and my twenty-three year old self is thoroughly disappointed. A transportation revolution? Forget it, the antiquated internal combustion still rules supreme. Sky links? Nope, most people are still stuck in grinding traffic at ground level. Futuristic architecture? This area is doing a little better, but most new buildings are just the same basic structure type with an extra layer of glitz slapped on to look shiny. So what happened to the 21st century? Where is this new world promised to us by popular culture back in the day? 2004 could be a shinier, sleeker 1974.
In the past few years, I for one feel like I have been assailed with talk of how much the world is changing. Technology, globalization and the internet are supposedly working together to revolutionize human existence. In this world of change, everything invariably improves as the wonders of progress march on. Sure there are big bumps on this road, like worldwide terrorism , but they will soon be defeated. Fitter, happier, more productive-a world of endless, problem-free growth.
But somewhere along the line between the late 80s and the present, I lost my faith in progress. As much as technological changes pile upon us, so many things have stayed exactly the same. Despite the exterior gloss of our civilization, we are the same animals. Reading world headlines, you could argue that we haven’t moved much beyond our time in the trees, eagerly clubbing the other ape for its bananas.
Governments around the world have given up on true innovation, instead repeating stale mantras about “competition” and “economic growth”. Some administrations, such as the one currently running the United States, are even quite happy to turn back the clock: why bother with new technology when the old, destructive methods are much better at stuffing your cronies’ pockets? Coal, the energy of the future: hmmm, sounds like progress to me. If you are living in 1790, that is.
My time in China has not brought me any closer to believing in true progress. I will of course admit that, compared to its own situation thirty years ago, this country has come leaps and bounds. But on the frontier of progress it is not, despite what Shanghai looks like. It is quite busy trying to catch up with the 20th century, let alone the 21st. The idea of modernity around here seems lifted right out of 1950s America. It only looks glitzier because it’s happening fifty years later. I see a lot of copying and imitation, but no innovation. “You see, we have this wonderful new invention that will revolutionize the world. Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to present to you…the fossil-fuel based private car!”
Lest you think the point of this post is China bashing, I will now heap some scorn on the most deserving of continents, North America. It has the money, education and culture to pump out tons of true innovation, and yet it is hopelessly stuck in a rut. We seem resigned to tweaking the status quo, simply because it’s easier and more profitable in the short-term. Many urban areas have developed permanent rush hours on their congested roadways, and suburbs sprawl endlessly in all directions. But instead of tackling fundamental causes, DVD players are tossed in new car models in the hopes that people won’t get so pissed when they are immobile for three hours. Is the problem poor transportation planning? No, no, it’s that people aren’t entertained enough while they are waiting.
Perhaps the problem is that the age-old human traits get in the way. Greed, selfishness and short-term thinking have all survived remarkably well over the past few millennia. We are inventing products we don’t need, and still producing ones that should have been replaced long ago. Pollution and waste are as present as ever.
This lack of vision is getting increasingly urgent as developing countries with unfathomably large populations strive to be “just like America”. Judging by some stats I saw in a recent issue of National Geographic, the US consumption levels of energy and resources are completely and unsustainably out of control. But instead of providing real change and leadership, the rulers of the ‘free world’ seem instead intent on bringing everyone back to the Industrial Revolution. What an inspiring world model. (not that any other country would be better if it were to suddenly find itself at the top)
Of course, you could throw a litany of counter-arguments my way. Most of them would invoke technology, efficiency of the free market system and so forth. But I find many of these smack of intellectual laziness: “Oh, don’t worry, technology will progress and solve all our problems, just kick back and relax” or “oh, just let the market do its magic, and everything will be fine”. In the end, technology and the “market” aren’t sentient beings; we can hardly rely on them to change things. They are fictive notions created mostly so that we humans can blame something other than ourselves (”it wasn’t me, it was the market!”). Our planet is run not by some unseen force of progress, but by very real people. And not much will really change before we dirty humans do.