I think the main problem is that the mutation rate and transfer rate of memes is still optimized for tribal settings.
Most mutations are disadvantageous, but if you never mutate, then you can never improve, so you need some mutations to make progress.
Meme mutation rate would be influenced by the structure of the brain (i.e. how likely a neuron is to misfire or make random connections) and meme transfer rate would be influenced by instincts (i.e. how likely a person is to trust another or go along with their idea). It's possible to influence these after birth through teaching, but genetics would still play a significant role this, and genes are generally very slow to adapt.
Just a few thousand years ago (a microscopic amount of time from a genetic view), it would not be possible for humans in one part of the world to quickly spread ideas to another. If one caveman tribe develops a disadvantageous meme mutation, it's mostly limited to that tribe. That tribe with the poison meme might die out, but there are other tribes that can still exist as backups for humanity. There might be that there's a little bit of genetic meme recklessness in humans that took advantage of that for faster development (some memeticly reckless tribes got lucky and grew). But with modern, connected society, meme spreading behavior that relied on that failsafe can now threaten every human.
It will probably be several thousand years before things get better, assuming we don't drive ourselves to extinction.
Most mutations are disadvantageous, but if you never mutate, then you can never improve, so you need some mutations to make progress.
Meme mutation rate would be influenced by the structure of the brain (i.e. how likely a neuron is to misfire or make random connections) and meme transfer rate would be influenced by instincts (i.e. how likely a person is to trust another or go along with their idea). It's possible to influence these after birth through teaching, but genetics would still play a significant role this, and genes are generally very slow to adapt.
Just a few thousand years ago (a microscopic amount of time from a genetic view), it would not be possible for humans in one part of the world to quickly spread ideas to another. If one caveman tribe develops a disadvantageous meme mutation, it's mostly limited to that tribe. That tribe with the poison meme might die out, but there are other tribes that can still exist as backups for humanity. There might be that there's a little bit of genetic meme recklessness in humans that took advantage of that for faster development (some memeticly reckless tribes got lucky and grew). But with modern, connected society, meme spreading behavior that relied on that failsafe can now threaten every human.
It will probably be several thousand years before things get better, assuming we don't drive ourselves to extinction.