Why do we continue to be fools?

A few years ago, I read Factfulness, by Hans Rosling. It has been one of the most influential books that I've read. It starts with a quiz of 13 simple questions (link to the quiz & the book) about the world. 

The author quizzed people in developed countries, from distinguished intellectuals to high school and university students, with these questions. Surprisingly, most people, from the smartest to the dumbest, got roughly similar answers. To rub salt in the wound, their answers were just as good as an average chimp. The real question that the book sought to answer was: "The rest of the world has changed so much over the past 50 years. So why is the opinion of the First World about it not changing? Why is the view the same?" 

I left India to live in Europe in 2015. It's been almost a decade of living abroad. I had been abroad for about 5 years when I read this book. I remember the feeling of goosebumps every time I read something I had experienced myself. 

The internet is already full of such experiences. Experiences of people from the developing world when they move abroad. The stereotypes they battle, the views they hear about their homeland, and the questions they're asked. Questions that leave them wondering whether the person asking them is serious indeed. Coming from India, the questions were often about poverty. Quite often, they were shaped by what they have seen in Slumdog Millionaire, or in the news. 

A recent conversation about the situation in India inspired me to write this article. I had a simple premise - "the quality of life for a majority of Indians (more than half) is getting better with time, rather than getting worse". A premise that I thought was basic enough that everyone at the table would agree, given that the table was occupied by highly intellectual people. To my surprise, the premise was dismissed unequivocally as false/highly unlikely. 

The premise wasn't that the quality of life is better in India than life in the first world. It's obviously not. I'm not even implying that the quality of life in India is good. However, the dismissal of the fact that it's getting better left me in utter disbelief. 

I understand and agree when people in the developed world believe that life isn't great in the rest of the world. There is a difference in the overall quality of life of an average European/American versus an average South Asian/Chinese/African/Latin American. But why is it so hard to believe that it might be getting better? In fact, it's getting better at a rapid pace. Why do we continue to not believe what's happening right in front of our eyes over the last 3 decades? Why do we continue to be fools? 

So for anyone who wishes to be a little less foolish today, I'm writing down 3 facts to show how the quality of life in India has improved over the last 3 decades. Do bear in mind that I'm not saying that it's amazing to live there. I'm just implying that for a simple majority of Indians, it's better to be an Indian today than it was 3 decades ago. All data points are from the World Bank in case you are still suspicious of the motives of this blog.

1. Extreme Poverty - Between 1990 and 2020, extreme poverty has declined from almost 50% to 10%. In 1990, India's population was roughly 500 Million. Half of that, 250 Million people, lived in extreme poverty. Today, India's population is 1.4Bn, with approximately 140 Million (10%) still living in extreme poverty. If the quality of life would not be improving for the poor in the country, we would expect, 700 Million people in extreme poverty right. That's roughly 560 Million that aren't in extreme poverty today than they would've been otherwise. That is approximately the entire population of Europe. I'm not saying that their life is great for these people. However, it's undeniable that these 560 million people over the last 3 decades have a better quality of life today than they would've otherwise, had things not been improving. 
2. Life expectancy - Between 1990 and 2020, life expectancy at birth has increased from 59 to 68.  The retirement age in India is 60. In simpler terms, an average Indian could expect to die before retiring 3 decades ago. Today, an average Indian has about a decade of life in retirement to look forward to. There are multiple similar statistics about the country's demographics (dropping child mortality and a declining birth rate for example) that demonstrate a significant improvement in the country's living standards.
3. Literacy Rate - The literacy rate in India stood at 48% in 1990. The chances of an Indian being able to read and write in India were worse than the flip of a coin. Today, it's over 75%. I doubt anyone would argue against the benefits of education. There's immense literature on the snowball effects of education towards boosting a country's economy and quality of life. 

I can't emphasize enough that this is NOT an attempt to showcase that life in India is amazing. Compared to the first world, it's far from amazing. India has more to do, and miracles don't happen overnight. Rome wasn't built in a day either. However, to be able to do the above things, in a country where the population is 3 times the size of Europe, after being economically plundered by colonization for over a century, is by no means, anything less than Jesus walking on water.

I do admit that India faces massive challenges ahead. India is nowhere close to its potential. Economic, political (internal and external) as well as climate challenges affect India just as much as any other developing nation in the world, if not more. If I had to write about India's problems, I'd have to write a book instead. However, whenever someone is truly convinced that life in India isn't getting better overall, I really can't help but ask: Why do we continue to be fools?