I now live and work in Australia.
This is a first world country. We have:

No distant, polluted and scarce water source,
but clean, safe and readily available tap water;

No dim-lit, short-lasting and fire-hazardous candles or ever-changing, weather-dependent and outdoor moonlight,
but bright, cheap and readily available electrical lights;

No smoky and seasonal nature’s leaves and branches,
but clean burning, cheap and readily available natural gas;

No smelly, dirty and outdoor outhouses,
but clean, hygienic and indoor toilets;

No hazardous and unsupervised ponds and lakes,
but safe and watched swimming pools;

No time-consuming, style limited and hand-made knitting,
but labour saving, mass-produced clothing rich in style;

No occasional serves of free-range eggs and chicken,
but daily consumption of caged and free-range eggs and chicken;

No occasional serve of expensive meat,
but daily consumption of cheap meat;

No slow-acting, hit-and-miss and sparsely available traditional herbal remedies,
but fast-curing, pin-point accurate and readily available modern pharmaceutical medicine;

No time consuming and labour-intensive bicycle and legs,
but fast moving and labour-saving cars, trains and planes;

No material scarcity from agriculturalism,
but material abundance due to industrialisation;

No villages and open spaces,
but cities, high rises and parks;

No clean air and blue sky due to lack of industries,
but clean air and blue sky due to better technologies that minimise pollution;

No outdoor play due to lack of choices,
but a combination of outdoor play and indoor play including watching TV;

No talking face-to-face due to lack of technology,
but a combination of mobile phones, social media and talking face-to-face;

No poverty due to lack of development,
but prosperity due to industrialisation as a result of good governance, sound economic management and strong work ethics.

People are rich,
but unhappy.

What have we gained from development,
I wonder if we are better or worse off?

– Zhen EX

I was born and raised in China.
Back then it was a third world country. We had:

No running tap water,
but a sweet tasting well;

No electricity,
but candles and moonlight;

No natural gas,
but nature’s leaves and branches;

No ensuite toilet,
but a smelly outhouse;

No swimming pools,
but ponds and lakes;

No mass-produced clothing,
but hand-made knitting;

No caged eggs,
but free-range chickens;

No hormone injected meat,
but home-raised animals;

No modern pharmaceutical medicine,
but traditional herbal remedies;

No cars,
but bicycles and legs;

No industry,
but green fields;

No high rises,
but open spaces;

No pollution,
but clean air and blue sky;

No TVs,
but outdoor play;

No phones,
but hand-written letters;

No social media,
but talking face-to-face;

No money,
but enough to live, laugh and love…

People were poor,
and unhappy.

Now it’s all developed, built and industrialised.
People are rich but still unhappy.

What have we given up for development,
I wonder if we are worse or better off?

– Zhen EX