People living in the 21st century have a better quality of life than in the previous centuries. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
I completely agree that people in the 21st century enjoy a far higher quality of life than those in previous centuries, thanks to groundbreaking advances in public health, digital technology and equal access to social resources.
First, medical development has drastically reduced mortality and eliminated many once-fatal diseases. In the 19th century, average global life expectancy was less than 30 years, and common infections like tuberculosis or infant cholera killed millions annually. Today, widespread vaccines, antibiotics and advanced surgical techniques push global average life expectancy to over 73 years. For example, smallpox, which killed an estimated 300 million people in the 20th century, was fully eradicated by 2001, a feat impossible for prior eras.
Second, digital technology has vastly improved life convenience and removed barriers to connection and information. Only two centuries ago, a cross-continental letter took months to deliver, and access to higher education was restricted to wealthy nobles. Now, instant messaging allows real-time contact with family across the world, and free open online courses from top universities are available to anyone with an internet connection. My own cousin from a rural village in northwest China, for instance, gained admission to a top domestic university last year using free open learning resources he accessed online, a path that would have been impossible for someone of his background 50 years ago.
Admittedly, modern life brings new pressures such as air pollution and fast-paced work stress, but these challenges are offset by unprecedented material security and life choices available to most people today. In conclusion, the 21st century has delivered tangible, widespread improvements to human life quality unmatched by any prior historical period.