> and the unspeakably horrible lifestyles of centuries ago.
That sounds like an over-the-top fairy tale to constructed justify modern society.
I assume by "unspeakably horrible lifestyle" you don't mean something like "lack of color television." That's an assumption I have to state, because there are a surprising number of people who say they consider the lack of modern creature-comforts to be something "unspeakably horrible" and that they'd rather die than be without them.
That said, I'm sure you could cherrypick an "unspeakably horrible lifestyle" out of the history books, just like I can cherrypick an "unspeakably horrible lifestyle" out of the news. I also wouldn't be surprised if the ultimate causes are the same or similar for both. Such cherry-picked examples don't speak to typical experience and don't speak to what's possible.
The vast majority of people alive centuries ago were subsistence farmers. They were malnourished, overworked, underpaid, illiterate, had virtually no access to effective healthcare, and had no civil rights. Also, no color TV. By virtually any measure the quality of life in modern society globally is orders of magnitude better than it was centuries ago.
That sounds like an over-the-top fairy tale to constructed justify modern society.
I assume by "unspeakably horrible lifestyle" you don't mean something like "lack of color television." That's an assumption I have to state, because there are a surprising number of people who say they consider the lack of modern creature-comforts to be something "unspeakably horrible" and that they'd rather die than be without them.
That said, I'm sure you could cherrypick an "unspeakably horrible lifestyle" out of the history books, just like I can cherrypick an "unspeakably horrible lifestyle" out of the news. I also wouldn't be surprised if the ultimate causes are the same or similar for both. Such cherry-picked examples don't speak to typical experience and don't speak to what's possible.