> Do you believe that, on balance, the world is no better today than in 1892? If so, that's where we disagree.

I think that the floor has been raised and the ceiling has been lowered for the typical person. There's far less suffering, but absence of suffering is not the same as happiness. In that respect I think a random 1892 person may have actually been happier. South Korea has 30x more suicides than Syria; the UK more than 3x Sudan; France more than 4x Afghanistan.