Does human 'development' necessarily imply an improvement?

Question

Every age in human history, in every part of the world, has experienced its own set of problems and also had its advantages over other points in time. Our society today is in general more developed than it ever was; however does this mean that its fundamentally better than it ever was?

We have access to various technology that supposedly improves our quality of life like transport systems, entertainment/media technologies, etc. that weren't around before the twentieth century. Were people generally less happy before the arrival of such technology?

Ease of lifestyle often brings with it a multitude of diseases of affluence. So, can people really be healthier now than ever? Is living longer just for the sake of it, any good (considering its our youth we really want to extend)?

A lot of the problems facing developed nations in the world today were non-existant long ago. So, are there really less problems today?

Answer 1

I think it is a misnomer to think that human life is better today than it was thousands of years ago.  According to Sigmund Freud society and its pressures are contrary to the real wants and needs of humans and put human life in conflict with the goals of society.  By "progressing" to a world wide democratic open economy each human being is being held to new standards, and each of these removes a part of the wants of a person.  Technology and the social sciences are as Rousseau suggests "flowers that cover the chains."  Each new development covers over the fact that society is holding back the true individual from living.  Thousands of years ago people were truly free, they may have lived for only 30 years, but they were never forced to live with the demands of society that removed their autonomy.  Ever since humanity became a species that is based on an agrarian system and the creation of surpluses the freedoms and autonomy have slowly been removed by the power structures they live in.  To answer your initial question I do not feel that "development" means improvement of the standard of live or an improvement of freedom.  Progress is not always good, and the twentieth century represents the troubles of technology, and the rise of the nation state the two "greatest" progresses of all time.

Answer 2

nope it implies that you get bigger and more knowledgeable but never learn from the past

Answer 3

I guess it depends how we define happiness. Many people with powerful companies would say yes because their values are captial. This though has come at a cost to the environment and now the profit that these companies make is out of proportion with what the rest of the people are making, contributing to a growing inequality. Many of these companies are dictating to our governments what they want this is not about shared happiness, only a few are entitled to the benifits it brings. Our values of capitalism which most  in today world would associate with happiness is coming at a high cost to most of its citizens and environment. Perhaps its time for a new value to make happy.