Recently, my friend Dan who is a fellow podcaster, Oregonian, and all-around history nerd, invited me to his live show which was a lovely treat from a kind and generous guy. For those of you who listen to his podcasts or have had the pleasure to see him live, you’ll know that he does the best kind of history, namely the version that raises more questions than answers.
In this particular live show Dan admitted to being concerned about the possibility of nuclear war and having a bit of pessimism about the human species at the moment. This surprised me for a couple of reasons. One, I literally don’t think about nuclear war at all. Like all people my age, I grew up in the shadow of the Cold War, but since that ended the nuclear threat has receded from my mind.
The second reason I was surprised was because Dan and I have talked about our “historian brains” and how they make us tend toward the long view and less prone to being concerned with certain bumps in the road. Dan even did a podcast episode about it last year. When you’ve studied the past enough, you start to see patterns. Things don’t repeat exactly, but they certainly echo and somehow we manage to survive to fight another day. What swings one way will eventually be corrected when the pendulum swings back.
But I’ll admit his comments in the live show made me think about something that has been brewing in my mind for a bit…
Are we in a time of extreme pessimism about the human species?
It’s hard not to think so when we look at the challenges we face. The vibe out there is undeniably negative. In the last few years things seem to have gotten pretty dicey pretty quickly. Global politics are unstable to say the least, wars, climate change, messed up education systems, social fracturing thanks to the advent of social media which was created to bring people together but has had the opposite effect, younger generations (at least where I live in the U.S.) that seem more fragile and anxious than ever, industrial food systems that are making us sick rather than nourishing us, and the list goes on. Our institutions feel like they are teetering on the edge. Seems like a world turned upside down and that the future’s not so bright that I gotta wear shades.
But despite all this, I’m not a person prone to pessimism. Sure, I can get a bit cynical from time to time like anyone else, but in general I’m more of an optimist, or at least a realist. And it’s because of my historian brain. We’ve seen this movie before and we’re still here. This too shall pass, as the saying goes. Worrying about stuff I can’t control does no good for anyone and doesn’t solve anything.
Dan noted that most of the subjects he’s covered in his podcasts over the span of almost 20 years have been reflections of our darker nature. Those of you who are devotees of his know what he means. To look at his catalog, one would think all we know how to do is conquer, imperialize, start wars, commit genocide, and create weapons of mass destruction. But I want to resist the urge to look at the vast scope of human history and think it’s all just a bunch of shit that only periodically gets punctuated with some glimmer of hope or joy. Jesus, how depressing. I’m no Pollyanna, but I don’t want to live that way.
So, it all got me to wondering about the times in the past where people might have been more hopeful by comparison. When were we more optimistic about our future prospects as a species? Now, I live in the U.S. and specialize in medieval and early modern European history, so my lens isn’t global by any stretch, but there are a few times in the past that come to mind where I think even when faced with big changes or challenges that people tended to be more glass half full. Here are a few.
The Pax Romana
This was a period of Roman history that lasted from 27 BC to 180 AD. It was ushered in thanks largely to the political genius of the very first Roman Emperor, Octavian Augustus. For the first time in a long time, the civil wars that had plagued the Republic stopped, the economy improved, and there was relative peace and stability. The trains ran on time, as they say. Well, not exactly, but you know what I mean. Sure, the peace was held together by the legions so it was a militarized state, but compared to what had come before I think for the average Roman things looked pretty good because they were stable and relatively safe. To sustain that for two centuries seems like an amazing run in a positive direction.
The Italian Renaissance
In the wake of the Black Death pandemic in Europe, Italy became the foundation for one of the greatest rebirths in history. For about two centuries beginning around 1400 AD wealthy patrons such as the Catholic Church and prominent families like the Medici, Sforza, Este, and Colonna created spectacular city-states that were hotbeds of creativity. From art to literature to architecture to systems of education, the money flowed in a system of civic humanism that must have brought hope to people who had lived in the shadow of plague death for so long. Inspired by the great achievements of the Greco-Roman world, they cherry picked what they thought was the best of human history and built a shiny new history on top of it. There was nowhere to go but up.
The Enlightenment
Fast forward to the 18th century in France and you’ll find a bunch of philosophers taking the humanist ball from those earlier Italians and running with it. Fresh on the heels of the Scientific Revolution where people like Galileo and Newton had literally redefined the universe, the philosophes envisioned a whole new world where the scientific method could be applied to all human institutions, rendering them as living science experiments that would eventually improve essentially every aspect of human life — or so they hoped. Layer on top of that new concepts such as freedom of religion, freedom of the press, equality before the law, the right to vote, and abolition of the medieval feudal hierarchy, and the times must have been intoxicating. The idea of progress was given a boost as never before. Idealistic though it was, it must have been a promising time to be alive.
Post-WWII America
There’s a reason why historians call the 20th century “The American Century.” Emerging victorious from the most devastating war in human history, America could recover and reign supreme for several reasons not the least of which was the fact that almost none of the war was fought on American soil. The recovery of our economy and creation of the largest and most prosperous middle class in history meant the tide was on the rise for the American people. Politically and militarily we were the example the rest of the world looked up to. Business and tech innovation boomed. Socially we faced challenges but things like the Civil Rights Movement and second-wave feminism created progress in ways still felt, admired, and emulated today. America, though a work-in-progress, was at the top of its game.
So, those are my examples. What are yours? When did hope for us humans seem to be on the rise? In my historian’s brain, I want to focus on those.
Terri - I see you're near my son. He's CEO of Riverboat Bank. An interesting guy, (but I'm heavily biased).
Despite unlikely surnames, genetically we are about as Viking as possible for born in the USA. He's the only banker I know who worked through undergrad as a bouncer in a juice bar (until I found out).
I started my journey as a physicist but my love was always history. The metaphysical wobble probably brought me to this point - Scientist/Marine Corps carrier pilot/lawyer/CIA operative/politician/geezer. Sitting around wondering why no one seems to consider my suggestions on good versus no so hot ideas.