THROUGHOUT the course of human history, mankind has seen many changes in the realms of living standards, agriculture, culture and civilisation as well as in terms of socio-economic, religious and political domains. Nonetheless, actual progress is something that has remained a mirage. The world may be flaunted as a place where everything has become achievable and possible, but reality suggests otherwise. The other side of the picture features fissures that continue to push the so-called advanced world towards the edge.

For instance, most developed countries, like the United States and Russia, pose existential threat to the world at large because they appear to be in some sort of never-ending arms race. Nuclear weapons have sown the seeds of destruction that may hit us any time.

In recent times, the Ukraine crisis has forced Russian President Vladimir Putin to talk about possible use of nuclear weapons and keeping them on high alert as a threat to Western powers. On its part, the West responded with threats of retaliation and consequences. Is this a scenario indicative of human progress? Only a twisted mind can make such a claim.

Moreover, the world is caught up in territorial disputes that have the potential to destroy the world wherein humanity might perish. It is a common observation that strained relations between Pakistan and India, largely due to the Kashmir dispute, represent a flashpoint that may trigger a nuclear war between the two neighbouring countries.

Other such cases include the Nagorno-Karabakh dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and, indeed, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East. Unresolved issues like these are warnings that the world needs to adopt a progressive outlook rather than living on the edge of this knife or that.

Moving on, have the humans succeeded in eradicating chronic diseases like, say, cancer and diabetes? Lately, a single virus, later called Covid, left the whole world crippled. The horrible consequences of that single virus and its various mutations touched every aspect of life, and touched it negatively. For months, all major actors of the international community got down on their knees and accepted their defeat against that virus. That in a critical sense exposed the net worth of the progress humans claim to have made.

Furthermore, climate change is a pestering wound that has caused flare-ups in the shape of disasters, like flash floods, droughts, tsunamis, landslides, earthquakes, avalanches, hurricanes and other means that continue to perpetuate the cycle of huge mass displacement, grinding poverty, agricultural losses, social nuisance, environmental degradation and economic consequences.

For instance, Pakistan, despite contributing even less than one per cent to the phenomenon of global warming, has to face difficult times and is at the mercy of major climate change culprits. The world community has yet to map out a plan to de-carbonise and turn to a carbon-free economic order that may be functional and acceptable at the global level.

In short, there is a long distance to travel before actual progress can be claimed. Before judging the book by its cover, it is important to realise that cosmetic changes do not mean progress. A tangible improvement must show positive results. For example, the world is stuck in the yoke of hunger and grinding poverty that lead to huge losses annually, but the international community takes deeper interest in maintaining hegemonic control of a few mighty powers over the rest of the world.

Abdul Qadeer Seelro
Larkana

Published in Dawn, December 22nd, 2022