The Progress Paradox: Why an Easier Life Might Not Be a Better Life
In the grand scheme of human history, it would be hard to argue that there has been a more transformative period than the one we are currently experiencing. In a handful of generations, we have witnessed the advent of technologies and innovations that have profoundly reshaped the way we live, making it safer, more secure, and easier than ever before. Yet, amid this progress, a paradox emerges.
In his insightful book “The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse”, Greg Easterbrook masterfully delves into a peculiar paradox of our modern era. Despite life being ostensibly better, safer, and more comfortable than at any other point in human history, as Easterbrook asserts, there appears to be a rising tide of discontentment, dissatisfaction, and anxiety that mars our collective well-being. This article explores this intriguing paradox further, influenced by Easterbrook’s seminal work, and points to what I call ‘The Evolution Gap’ as a significant contributing factor. The Evolution Gap refers to the divergence between our slow-paced genetic evolution and the fast pace of technological and social innovations. This gap has vast implications for our modern life experience. As we journey through this exploration, we will delve into various facets of life including physical health, parenting, romantic relationships, social structures, and mental health, analyzing how the Evolution Gap negatively impacts them and proposing measures to bridge this gap for an improved quality of life.
Our bodies and brains are largely the same as they were in the Stone Age, yet the world around us has changed in ways that are almost inconceivable. It’s in this gap that modern-day trials and tribulations emerge. I suggest that the Evolution Gap affects almost every aspect of human life and is the cause of most of our present-day suffering.
Here is a small sampling of how The Evolution Gap negatively impacts the human experience:
Physical Health: The Battle of the Bulge
“That’s why our brains light up when we eat sugar — it’s a high-energy food source and it once improved our chances of survival.”
Let’s start with a concrete example: our collective struggle with weight and the rise of related health issues like diabetes and heart disease. We’re built to survive in environments that bear little resemblance to our modern world. Our prehistoric ancestors needed to conserve energy and store fat to survive when food was scarce. That’s why our brains light up when we eat sugar — it’s a high-energy food source and it once improved our chances of survival.
Today, in an era where high-sugar, high-fat, and high-calorie foods are available around the clock, these once advantageous instincts have turned against us. It’s as though we’re running antiquated software that’s ill-suited to modern life. This mismatch between our genetic programming and our current environment is a vivid example of the Evolution Gap and it has devastating effects on human health as seen by the rapidly increasing rates of ‘lifestyle’ diseases, obesity, and type II diabetes.
Parenting: It Takes a Virtual Village
“In contrast, modern parents often feel isolated, bearing the brunt of child-rearing on their own.”
Next, consider parenting. Our ancestors lived in tightly-knit tribes where the whole community was involved in raising children. This not only provided support for parents but also ensured that children learned necessary survival and communication skills from various adults.
In contrast, modern parents often feel isolated, bearing the brunt of child-rearing on their own. Despite having access to a wealth of online parenting advice, it can never replace the tangible, emotional support that a real-life community provides. This isolating parenting environment, starkly different from our evolutionary past, is another instance of the Evolution Gap.
Romantic Relationships: Too Many Fish in the Sea?
“This ‘paradox of choice’ can lead to indecisiveness and the fear of missing out on the ‘perfect’ partner”
The world of romance and relationships isn’t immune to this gap, either. Our ancestors lived in small groups, meaning the pool of potential mates was limited. Today, dating apps and websites give us access to an almost infinite pool of potential partners. This ‘paradox of choice’ can lead to indecisiveness and the fear of missing out on the ‘perfect’ partner, undermining the ability to commit and fostering a throwaway dating culture.
Social Structures: Alone Together
This can leave us feeling disconnected and lonely, despite being more ‘connected’ than ever.
Our social instincts were honed in small, close-knit communities where reputation, direct reciprocity, and kinship were crucial. Today’s societies are massive and often anonymized, with many of our interactions taking place virtually. This can leave us feeling disconnected and lonely, despite being more ‘connected’ than ever. The dissonance between our innate social instincts and our modern social structures is another example of the Evolution Gap.
Does Narcissism Thrive in the Gap?
Further, our current society, with its emphasis on individualism, materialism, social media, and success, can inadvertently reward narcissistic behavior.
Consider the intense conversations we see on social media today about narcissism; the increased prevalence of narcissistic behavior is also a symptom of the Gap. In our hunter-gatherer past, we lived in small communities, where everyone knew everyone else intimately. Social norms were shaped by close interpersonal relationships, and people’s reputations spread through word of mouth. Any deviation from communal harmony, including traits such as narcissism, would be noticed quickly. A person consistently displaying self-centered, manipulative behavior would likely face social ostracism, reducing their ability to succeed within the group.
However, the rapid development of human civilization has led to immense societal structures where individuals can exist among thousands, if not millions, of other people. In such settings, a narcissistic individual has a much greater opportunity to mask their behavior in the crowd, manipulate the narrative surrounding themselves, or simply move on to a new social group. Further, our current society, with its emphasis on individualism, materialism, social media, and success, can inadvertently reward narcissistic behavior.
Mental Health: Brains Under Siege
This chronic stress can lead to a host of mental health problems, including anxiety and depression, as well as the suppression of immune function.
The mental health crisis we’re experiencing today can also be viewed through the lens of the Evolution Gap. Our brains were equipped to deal with acute, immediate threats, not the chronic, abstract stressors of today, such as job insecurity, climate change, and the 24/7 news cycle. This chronic stress can lead to a host of mental health problems, including anxiety and depression, as well as the suppression of immune function.
Once we understand and identify The Evolution Gap and its impact on our lives and on society at large, we empower ourselves to improve conditions. Progress isn’t the problem; the problem is that our biological evolution is struggling to keep up with it. Recognizing this doesn’t mean rejecting modern society or pining for a return to the caves. Instead, it can guide us in understanding these evolutionary mismatches and adapting our behaviors and environments to bridge the gap and get the best of both worlds.
This awareness can arm us with the tools to navigate our modern world more successfully and catch up to our own progress.
If you are curious about The Evolution Gap and how it might be impacting your life, please take this assessment from GapFinder.com. After a few short questions, you will receive a diagnostic report about how the Gap might be negatively impacting your quality of life and some specific suggestions as to how you can close the Gap, improve your life experience, and perhaps even increase your life expectancy.
Links and Resources:
Gap Finder Test: www.GapFinder.com
Book Preorder: www.TheEvolutionGap.com
Sources and Influences:
Easterbrook, G. (2003). The Progress Paradox: How Life Gets Better While People Feel Worse. Random House.
Lieberman, D. (2013). The Story of the Human Body: Evolution, Health, and Disease. Pantheon.
Popkin, B. M., Adair, L. S., & Ng, S. W. (2012). Global nutrition transition and the pandemic of obesity in developing countries. Nutrition reviews, 70(1), 3–21.
O’Connor, T. G., & Scott, S. B. C. (2007). Parenting and outcomes for children. Joseph Rowntree Foundation.
Schwartz, B. (2004). The paradox of choice: why more is less. Harper Perennial.
Cacioppo, J. T., & Patrick, W. (2008). Loneliness: Human nature and the need for social connection. WW Norton & Company.
Twenge, J. M., & Campbell, W. K. (2010). The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement. Atria Paperback.
