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> Present-day Western society would have looked like the literal garden of Eden to the average human from 2000 BC In some ways. Sanitation and education are un
by mLuby 6y ago
> Present-day Western society would have looked like the literal garden of Eden to the average human from 2000 BC
In some ways. Sanitation and education are undeniably better. I'm almost sure physiological (food, temperature), safety, and equality are also better, though not solved.
Some worries both my great^70 grandparents and I share:
- Losing access to food, shelter, and medical care if unable to work.
- Occasionally fearing for physical safety of self or loved ones.
- Persecution/ostracism by community for traits or actions.
- Abuse by power structures (governments, churches, etc.).
The first worry is an economic problem that could be solved this year if all governments agreed to guarantee it. (The social problems are harder.)
- qsort 6y ago> In some ways. In pretty much all ways, and unquestionably so in aggregate. > Some worries both my great^70 grandparents and I share: Sure, but the degree to which those are immediate worries to you is (on average) significantly less intense than it would have been at pretty much any other point in history. My father's family skipped meals. My grandfather dropped out of school. Elementary school. I don't see how this is even a contentious point. > The first worry is an economic problem that could be solved this year if all governments agreed to guarantee it. If you're arguing that welfare is mostly broken for no good reason, I agree wholeheartedly, but by and large, in most of the Western world, it's overwhelmingly likely that you won't starve nor lose access to shelter or medical care, even if you're out of a job for an extended period of time.