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"it's not clear whether people are happier or even healthier in an industrial economy than an agrarian one." Plague, famine, et al, sure sounds happier and hea
by greedo 10y ago
"it's not clear whether people are happier or even healthier in an industrial economy than an agrarian one."
Plague, famine, et al, sure sounds happier and healthier than compared to modern (First World) living.
Even if you look back at hunter-gatherer societies where it's been claimed that leisure time was substantially greater than today, things like infant mortality make that seem like hell.
I take these type of historical deconstructions with a large grain of salt; it used to be the idea of the Noble Savage, now it's moving on to medieval times.
- spenczar5 10y agoI agree: modern life is better than ancient life, in general, for the reasons you describe. But that's not the two choices I was putting forward, which are an industrial economy or an agrarian one. Those changes in infant mortality, for example, are largely due to better hygiene around births and in handling infants. Wash your hands and boil your water; you can still be in an agrarian economy and do this.
- kuschku 10y agoThis is an interesting discussion in Star Trek IX: Insurrection. A society which knows about warp travel, but has chosen to live an agrarian lifestyle again, while keeping their technological knowledge.
- afarrell 10y agoBut you also need the technology and culture of birth control or else you run up against the ability of your methods of food production to prevent starvation.