I don't mean only the US but in much of the world: in many European countries the populist far right is unseating Christian-Democratic parties (conservative parties), like in Hungary, Slovakia or Czechia. In others like Germany or France the far right is at the gates of power, in the UK, Reform UK is running high in the polls. In Turkey autocratic Erdogan is copying the Putin playbook to systematically dismantle the social-democratic opposition. In Japan, a neo Thatcherite that doesn't hide she honors Japanese war criminals is about to become the new PM.
Something common I see in all these parties is strong disaffection with the current state of their countries and a longing to an idealized past they promise to bring back, to make countries great again...
Except that societies have changed beyond recognition in the last 40 years, emerging China, India, Mexico and a myriad of south east Asian countries can produce cheaper than us in the developed countries, so called first world democracies are now much older and indebted than 40 years ago (no wonder societies have shifted so hard to the right), buying a house is now waaaay more expensive than 40 years ago, you cannot earn a livable wage just assembling toasters like 40 years ago, you just cannot roll automation and digitization back, no matter how much you complain...
The past cannot come back, neither will it come back just because some people want it to. It's completely futile, but people are not rational about this, they're completely emotional and tribal.
It's like a huge, collective effort in denial: denying that we in the developed world are older, not the first ones in the world anymore, that other countries we always considered inferior to us are even surpassing us technologically while we complain and hope for a savior that brings us 40 years back when we, the white guys, ruled all over.
I don't see it happening: being angry and voting the far right may make some people feel good, it may make them feel they're somehow taking their country back, but it's not going to stop China, India and other countries from developing, investing in new technologies and even creating trade alliances that bypass the US or the EU.
My question: was there a moment in history where societies were so shifted to the right like today? How long did it last?
It constantly goes in cycles, three steps forwards, two steps backward.
In my opinion, it's always been a cycle of pretending to take a step forward while simultaneously slowly walking backwards unbeknownst to everyone, and then taking 2 steps backwards for good measure.
That's just untrue. People live in better conditions today, even just considering social acceptance, and not technology or medicine. Most societies are at least in theory democratic, where people get some input towards the ruler. There are legal protections against slavery, misogyny, homophobia, racism, transphobia, and anti monopolistic agencies that try to temper the worst parts of capitalism. Trade unions have successfully campaigned so that now people work less than they have since the start of the industrial revolution, in unprecedentedly better conditions.
Don't get me wrong, there's a long way to go, and many of these things exist a lot more in theory than practice. Child rights, in particularly, are woefully lacking.
However, claiming that the past, at any point, was better for the vast majority of people is the same nostalgic, rose tinted, incorrect thinking that MAGA (when was America 'great' the first time?) Republicans fall prey to.
I see way too many poor, chronically ill, and visibly distressed people. This isn't normal, not even a little bit.
Social acceptance has been nonexistent for me as a gay, autistic male - people frequently tell me about their similarly horrible experiences.
Technology has advanced, sure, but it just serves to enslave, manipulate, and spy on us in increasingly dystopian ways as the years go by. Mass surveillance, centralized databases, and unregulated AI have been normalized. What's next?
As a chronically ill person, medicine has caused me significantly more harm than good because doctors are too overworked to identify side effects and complications - and I have nearly died several times due to medical negligence/iatrogenic illness. No, I'm not exaggerating. There have been many key advancements in medicine, but our healthcare industry is very sick - even in countries with socialized healthcare. There are people experiencing relief that previously wasn't possible - I'm not denying that.
Democracy is largely illusory, especially here in the states. Consent of the governed is not present in many "democratic" societies if you've been paying attention.
Slavery and third-world exploitation have exploded overseas to support first-world needs (even child slavery), prison/slave labor is incredibly pervasive in the states, and before Trump became Führer an estimated 40%~ of US agricultural workers were undocumented immigrants - modern slaves.
The legal protections are effectively nonexistent to prevent or remediate discrimination in practice. Two-party consent laws for recording are really terrible for those subject to abuse.
Here in the states, unions are largely nonexistent, people still work significantly more than they need to, productivity has risen but wages have largely stagnated, people are largely in significant debt and they cannot afford a house or a car, they cannot afford to reliably access healthcare (and even if they can "afford" it, it isn't timely), higher education is inaccessible and college debt is unreal, etc.
Yes, and no. There are many careers that harm you in ways that only modern society can. Like plastics workers being exposed to a greater risk of cancer. I have known many people that have been denied access to necessary PPE in multiple fields and have suffered workplace injuries that have been covered up. We can do so much better, but our society still revolves around exploiting people while pinching pennies.
Have we taken some steps? Sure. But we've taken many, many, many more backwards while people are oblivious in their bubbles. Pop your bubble, please. More people than ever before in history are suffering silently in ways that only can happen in modern times. Denying or whitewashing the extreme levels of suffering people are experiencing because some aspects are better than the past isn't helping anybody.
You are pointing out how the world is a terrible place with lots of suffering. I completely agree with you. But in each of these areas, the way things are now is still better than they've ever been. They've always been bad and horrible, and in most places and times, worse.
Untrue, and again, it's whitewashing. You make a lot of big claims, but they don't hold true in reality. The advancements you tout are as weighty as a corporate slogan for real people.
Two steps back somehow in 2025 involves tripping and falling behind by nearly a century