That these elements are a greater cause of societal problems today than people living longer.

If anything, living longer will give people better perspective.

Source: At 30 I had a much more nuanced perspective of just about anything than I did at 20. And I bet most people would say the same. Partly just from experience, but also because I was able to read a lot more about any subject, such as things like Studs Terkel's "Hard Times", or understand the complexities of WWII better, and how today is very much a result of it.

And I've read even more since then. By now I've spent more time reading than I had the hours to read, let alone the background, at age 20.