Think of society like a house - technology represents the fancy fixtures and smart appliances, but social stability is the foundation.
No matter how advanced your automated systems or sleek your design, if the foundation is cracking, the whole structure is at risk of collapse. This is exactly what we're seeing in the world today.
Technology and production capabilities mean nothing if they don't bring stability to human lives. Look at the West - despite having far better technology than 20 years ago, they're "declining." This decline isn't happening in terms of production or technology, but in social stability. Mental health issues are surging despite breakthrough medications and therapies. People are more connected yet more isolated than ever.
Consider this choice: would you rather have 100 billion dollars with severe instability in your physical, mental, and emotional health, or a million dollars with perfect stability? The answer is obvious for most humans wherever they come from. Stability is a fundamental need.
What makes an age truly "golden" isn't just technological achievement - it's the delicate balance between capability and stability. The Islamic Golden Age from the 8th to 12th century exemplifies this.
Yes, they had slave trade and human rights as we see today may not have been manifested, but relative to their technology, society had achieved a remarkable equilibrium of scientific advancement, social order, and cultural flourishing. Scholars could pursue knowledge while common people had predictable daily lives - the hallmark of true stability.
Look at China today - rapid technological growth has lifted millions from poverty, but at what social cost? Families dispersed, traditional structures disrupted, and a generation grappling with unprecedented change. The echoes of such rapid transformations - just like colonial disruptions before them - resonate across societies for centuries until new stability emerges.
Being from India, I understand this profoundly. We have smartphones everywhere, but stable electricity and clean water matter more for daily contentment. What the West considers "first world problems" don't even register here - not because they aren't issues, but because we know our society isn't rich or capable enough to address them yet. Social media shows us global standards constantly, yet we've maintained a pragmatic understanding of our society's current capabilities and limitations.
What constitutes real social stability? It's predictable daily life, strong family structures, reliable community bonds, and cultural continuity - these form the bedrock upon which progress can be built. I consider a stable society one where you live without worrying about basic needs - food, clothes, accommodation, medical care, travel - plus unfettered access to information and capital when you want to build something. And yes, free access to every nation on earth.
I would rather live as a peasant in a golden age with less technology than in some Cyberpunk 2077 dystopia where stability has gone to shit but I can mod myself into an attack helicopter. History shows us what happens when technology outpaces social adaptation - from the Industrial Revolution's social upheaval to today's social media-driven anxiety epidemics.
Suffering and contentment are relative. If my parents had it worse and I suffer less during my lifetime, I'll be content. If parents are poor and give each sibling one orange for Christmas, that brings happiness. But if they're rich and give my elder sibling a Lambo while I get a Ford, I'll be damn pissed.
The threshold for whether a person perceives their society as stable depends on how prosperous and technologically capable that society is, and how aware they are of what's possible. Regression is never stable - as a person living in 2025, I know that for our level of advancement today, going back to the lifestyle of past golden ages would be a massive mistake.
Looking forward, the challenge isn't just advancing technology - it's achieving sustainable progress where social structures can adapt at a matching pace. We need to build societies that can maintain stability while embracing change, where progress serves human wellbeing rather than disrupting it.
The bottom line? Human contentment isn't about technological progress - it's about social stability relative to what that society is capable of delivering. Development with regards to production or technology is secondary.
Until we figure out how to maintain social stability while advancing technologically, we're just building castles in the air with increasingly sophisticated tools.
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