While I don't think most reasonable people would disagree with the gist of these goals, I think there's plenty to disagree with regarding their ambiguity, how they're measured, the derived measures, and the interstitial spaces between the goals. Examining the lives of Palestinians, for example, might show that even *if*, on average, 2.3 Goal 3 is trending positive, it's the stability and variation in the measure that may hide the pessimistic detail. Or one might consider the decline in both the foundations of university education *and* the trend away from skilled labor ... or the decrepit state of infrastructure like bridges and waterways in the richest country on the planet ... or the unhinged reliance on public debt ... or the rarity of medical oxygen in Africa, Latin America, and India or that Renee's hospital beds are packed to the rim with mental health patients who have no place to go ... or the trends away from democracy in many governments ... etc. So even if you can cobble together some stats to argue there's upward monotonic progress in a large subset of these goals and their measures, the *thickness* and robustness of that statistical model will be suspect.
For a good counterpoint, it's useful to keep an eye on this: The Doomsday Clock https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/timeline/ On 5/26/21 12:12 PM, Pieter Steenekamp wrote: > I just want to go back to Dave's question to define "progress". I think the > United Nations' list of Sustainable Development Goal targets and indicators > could be a starting point. From wikipedia: > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sustainable_Development_Goal_targets_and_indicators > > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sustainable_Development_Goal_targets_and_indicators> > > > * > o 2.1Goal 1. End poverty in all its forms everywhere > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sustainable_Development_Goal_targets_and_indicators#Goal_1._End_poverty_in_all_its_forms_everywhere> > o 2.2Goal 2. End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition > and promote sustainable agriculture > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sustainable_Development_Goal_targets_and_indicators#Goal_2._End_hunger,_achieve_food_security_and_improved_nutrition_and_promote_sustainable_agriculture> > o 2.3Goal 3. Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all > ages > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sustainable_Development_Goal_targets_and_indicators#Goal_3._Ensure_healthy_lives_and_promote_well-being_for_all_at_all_ages> > o 2.4Goal 4. Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and > promote lifelong learning opportunities for all > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sustainable_Development_Goal_targets_and_indicators#Goal_4._Ensure_inclusive_and_equitable_quality_education_and_promote_lifelong_learning_opportunities_for_all> > o 2.5Goal 5. Achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sustainable_Development_Goal_targets_and_indicators#Goal_5._Achieve_gender_equality_and_empower_all_women_and_girls> > o 2.6Goal 6. Ensure availability and sustainable management of water > and sanitation for all > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sustainable_Development_Goal_targets_and_indicators#Goal_6._Ensure_availability_and_sustainable_management_of_water_and_sanitation_for_all> > o 2.7Goal 7. Ensure access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and > modern energy for all > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sustainable_Development_Goal_targets_and_indicators#Goal_7._Ensure_access_to_affordable,_reliable,_sustainable_and_modern_energy_for_all> > o 2.8Goal 8. Promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic > growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sustainable_Development_Goal_targets_and_indicators#Goal_8._Promote_sustained,_inclusive_and_sustainable_economic_growth,_full_and_productive_employment_and_decent_work_for_all> > o 2.9Goal 9. Build resilient infrastructure, promote inclusive and > sustainable industrialization and foster innovation > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sustainable_Development_Goal_targets_and_indicators#Goal_9._Build_resilient_infrastructure,_promote_inclusive_and_sustainable_industrialization_and_foster_innovation> > o 2.10Goal 10. Reduce inequality within and among countries > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sustainable_Development_Goal_targets_and_indicators#Goal_10._Reduce_inequality_within_and_among_countries> > o 2.11Goal 11. Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, > resilient and sustainable > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sustainable_Development_Goal_targets_and_indicators#Goal_11._Make_cities_and_human_settlements_inclusive,_safe,_resilient_and_sustainable> > o 2.12Goal 12. Ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sustainable_Development_Goal_targets_and_indicators#Goal_12._Ensure_sustainable_consumption_and_production_patterns> > o 2.13Goal 13. Take urgent action to combat climate change and its > impacts ^[n 10] > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sustainable_Development_Goal_targets_and_indicators#Goal_13._Take_urgent_action_to_combat_climate_change_and_its_impacts_[n_10]> > o 2.14Goal 14. Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine > resources for sustainable development > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sustainable_Development_Goal_targets_and_indicators#Goal_14._Conserve_and_sustainably_use_the_oceans,_seas_and_marine_resources_for_sustainable_development> > o 2.15Goal 15. Protect, restore and promote sustainable use of > terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, > and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sustainable_Development_Goal_targets_and_indicators#Goal_15._Protect,_restore_and_promote_sustainable_use_of_terrestrial_ecosystems,_sustainably_manage_forests,_combat_desertification,_and_halt_and_reverse_land_degradation_and_halt_biodiversity_loss> > o 2.16Goal 16. Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable > development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, > accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sustainable_Development_Goal_targets_and_indicators#Goal_16._Promote_peaceful_and_inclusive_societies_for_sustainable_development,_provide_access_to_justice_for_all_and_build_effective,_accountable_and_inclusive_institutions_at_all_levels> > o 2.17Goal 17. Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize > the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sustainable_Development_Goal_targets_and_indicators#Goal_17._Strengthen_the_means_of_implementation_and_revitalize_the_Global_Partnership_for_Sustainable_Development> > * > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sustainable_Development_Goal_targets_and_indicators#Repeat_Indicators> > > > <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Sustainable_Development_Goal_targets_and_indicators#Repeat_Indicators> > -- ↙↙↙ uǝlƃ - .... . -..-. . -. -.. -..-. .. ... -..-. .... . .-. . FRIAM Applied Complexity Group listserv Zoom Fridays 9:30a-12p Mtn GMT-6 bit.ly/virtualfriam un/subscribe http://redfish.com/mailman/listinfo/friam_redfish.com FRIAM-COMIC http://friam-comic.blogspot.com/ archives: http://friam.471366.n2.nabble.com/
