I consider myself also a student of history. I had the opportunity to live in a number of different countries and among different social classes and always observed and tried to compare. In my opinion it is impossible to compare objectively between societies, classes and generations, simply because circumstances determine behaviour of people and circumstances have so many colours and change all the time.

I would dare to say that the number of scumbags in a society is probably constant and rather small, but that right now there may be more scumbags that have reached the top of corporations and politics in the West than before due to an overemphasis on the importance of ownership of money and the corresponding declining emphasis on the importance of knowledge, wisdom, spiritual, social and other leadership skills.

From Grand Rapids to North Korea to Papua New Guinee times are changing under one common denominator: there are each time more people that want a better life, while the available resources per person get less and rapidly so. On top of that, people don't know what a better life actually is, as soon as their basic needs are fulfilled. What basic needs are to be fulfilled becomes the next question, because that also is a progressing concept.

In short, whoever decided to give this animal brains, must be a bit of a sadist. Without brains the fight for survival is a lot easier than with brains.