The "jQuery === bad code structure" association is strong, even today. But the fact is you can write good code with jQuery – without Backbone – just fine. Most

The "jQuery === bad code structure" association is strong, even today. But the fact is you can write good code with jQuery – without Backbone – just fine. Most all web developers of that day were new to programming (experienced folk didn't take JS seriously), so naturally they did not know how to write well-designed software. The benefit of Backbone was not Backbone itself – it was the community push for thinking about code structure in general.