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PaperclipPerfector  1yr ago (text post)   8604 thread views

Small-Scale Question Sunday for July 7, 2024

Do you have a dumb question that you're kind of embarrassed to ask in the main thread? Is there something you're just not sure about?

This is your opportunity to ask questions. No question too simple or too silly.

Culture war topics are accepted, and proposals for a better intro post are appreciated.

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By most accounts and metrics, we in modern Western nations live in the wealthiest, safest society ever. We have some of the broadest and strongest social "safety nets" in history, and lower inequality than most large societies of the past. Thus, the downsides to risk-taking are presumably the lowest ever; never has "the price of failure" been so low.

So, why then, do we seem to be some of the most risk-averse people ever? Why do we appear to be more terrified of failure than our ancestors who were one bad harvest away from starvation?

(I wonder about this, because it seems to me to be a factor in our modern allergy to authority, specifically how scared people seem to be at the idea of stepping up and taking charge of something.)

We get used to safety, and there are fewer risks, so what ones there are feel more serious.

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