Thoughts on Harry Potter

My posting has been sparse lately because I've been busy reading. I'm not going to post anything that is a spoiler but just some general thoughts.
My main point of puzzlement with the Harry Potter series is the role of muggles in the world of wizards and witches and why they're viewed with such contempt. The wizard society seems like a decadent and decaying society. They rely on their innate magical skill and have never learned to live in the world without magic. It seems like they are never required to think. They have never thought of something that hasn't been thought of before. GIven such a stagnant society, one would think that the wizard world would be in awe of the energy and inventiveness of muggles. We (the muggles) have planes, trains, and automobiles.We've put people on the moon. If we want to learn about the deathly hallows, we don't need to ask Hermione. We've got Wikipedia! And haven't they ever heard of democracy? My guess is that the wizards are in a period of slow decline and that the superior inventiveness, initiative, energy, and brain power will lead the muggles to a position of superiority in future society.

My other thought is that when one uses polyjuice potion to transform themselves into the likeness of another person and that person is of the other gender, wouldn't it be natural to be just a little bit curious about the new equipment? Or is that just me? Oh well, it is a book for kids so I understand.