Most would agree the 21st century is better than the 16th century, but is 2025 better than 2019 or even 2010?

Well, there aren't any signs of a worldwide multi-year pandemic starting that will shut down every economy, force governments into extreme monetary devaluation via supply expansion to pretend everything is okay, and an extreme loss of trust in many medical and scientific institutions.

So, yeah, I'd rather carry on as we are than go back and live through it all over again.

A bit like investing the graph looks straight when you zoom out but close examination shows many peaks and troughs.

It would be nice if our wellbeing increased monotonically but events (covid, the financial crisis, the war in Ukraine) get in the way.