WHAT IS THE POPE AFRAID OF?
Why are people so afraid of technological progress?
Pope Francis complains in his new encyclical about "a blind confidence in technical solutions", of "irrational confidence in progress" and the drawbacks of the "technocratic paradigm."
He is reflecting a popular view, held across the political spectrum, from the Unabomber to Russell Brand, that technology, consumerism and progress have been bad for people, by making them more selfish and unhappy.
But however thoroughly you search the papal encyclical, you will find no data to support the claim that as people have got richer they have got nastier and more miserable.
That is because the data points the other way. The past five decades have seen people becoming on average wealthier, healthier, happier, better fed, cleverer, kinder, more peaceful and more equal.
Global inequality has been plummeting for years as people in poor countries get rich faster than people in rich countries. The vast preponderance of these improvements has come about as a result of innovation in technology and society.
So what precisely is the problem with technology that the Pope is complaining about? What is he afraid of?
