4 ms·

I hope this is parody. The average life expectancy was 35-40. The average person was working 12 hours/day with much of it being heavy labor. No one was going to

I hope this is parody. The average life expectancy was 35-40. The average person was working 12 hours/day with much of it being heavy labor. No one was going to the pub or having a good meal, they were just trying to survive. I don't understand this romanticization of the past. Does everyone just assume they would be the king? Even then, they would still be worse off than nearly everyone in a modern economy today.

ahaushsbsuav 2y ago
The life expectancy was primarily due to child death. Which, while tragic, doesn’t have much to do with the parents point. During the mini warming period in medieval England peasants had enough free time that they contributed their labor to building beautiful churches we still see today. Generalizations like “everyone was happy/angry at all times in the past” are not accurate. There were times of both, and we should look to the times that were good to determine what needs to change in our future. You don’t need to be king to be happy. A meaningful job with a family, friends, and a country you feel connected too is likely enough for most people.
incomingpain 2y ago
>The average life expectancy was 35-40. I'm not even arguing that we drink and smoke ourselves to happy. The point was the socialization. Our society has not replaced this. High taxation on alcohol and tobacco does not by itself increase life expectancy. That's absolutely not a thing. You also obviously fact checked this before posting not realizing that it was bubonic plague year and that infant mortality is the key problem here. People who were 35 werent expected to die any year. If you were 35 you'd still live several decades. No I dont think smoking and drinking at a pub causes infant mortality. >The average person was working 12 hours/day with much of it being heavy labor. And high taxation on alcohol and tobacco does not reduce the amount of labour hours per day. You're arguing against living in the era which is not something I was arguing for. >No one was going to the pub or having a good meal, they were just trying to survive. No actually going to the pub was fundamentally something you did every single day regardless of social class. > I don't understand this romanticization of the past. Does everyone just assume they would be the king? Even then, they would still be worse off than nearly everyone in a modern economy today. I was never doing that.
- matwood 2y ago
  You literally said lets think about 1625. If your point is we should socialize more, I agree! I don't agree that somehow taxes are the primary reason we don't socialize. IMO, socializing is hard because with the good comes challenges. Technology has given us a fake version of socialization with apparently fewer challenges, so many people opt in for that instead. Only later do people realize the fake version doesn't have most of the benefits of real socialization, and by then it's often too hard for people to switch course. Honestly, 50 Cent said it best, Sunny days wouldn't be special, if it wasn't for rain. Joy wouldn't feel so good, if it wasn't for pain. Death gotta be easy, 'cause life is hard It'll leave you physically, mentally, and emotionally scarred.
polotics 2y ago
Your average hides the shape of the curve: the life expectancy for those who managed to make it through the first 15 years was 35 to 40 additional years, so there were plenty of 50 year-olds around.

ahaushsbsuav 2y ago

The life expectancy was primarily due to child death. Which, while tragic, doesn’t have much to do with the parents point. During the mini warming period in medieval England peasants had enough free time that they contributed their labor to building beautiful churches we still see today. Generalizations like “everyone was happy/angry at all times in the past” are not accurate. There were times of both, and we should look to the times that were good to determine what needs to change in our future. You don’t need to be king to be happy. A meaningful job with a family, friends, and a country you feel connected too is likely enough for most people.

incomingpain 2y ago

>The average life expectancy was 35-40. I'm not even arguing that we drink and smoke ourselves to happy. The point was the socialization. Our society has not replaced this. High taxation on alcohol and tobacco does not by itself increase life expectancy. That's absolutely not a thing. You also obviously fact checked this before posting not realizing that it was bubonic plague year and that infant mortality is the key problem here. People who were 35 werent expected to die any year. If you were 35 you'd still live several decades. No I dont think smoking and drinking at a pub causes infant mortality. >The average person was working 12 hours/day with much of it being heavy labor. And high taxation on alcohol and tobacco does not reduce the amount of labour hours per day. You're arguing against living in the era which is not something I was arguing for. >No one was going to the pub or having a good meal, they were just trying to survive. No actually going to the pub was fundamentally something you did every single day regardless of social class. > I don't understand this romanticization of the past. Does everyone just assume they would be the king? Even then, they would still be worse off than nearly everyone in a modern economy today. I was never doing that.

matwood 2y ago
You literally said lets think about 1625. If your point is we should socialize more, I agree! I don't agree that somehow taxes are the primary reason we don't socialize. IMO, socializing is hard because with the good comes challenges. Technology has given us a fake version of socialization with apparently fewer challenges, so many people opt in for that instead. Only later do people realize the fake version doesn't have most of the benefits of real socialization, and by then it's often too hard for people to switch course. Honestly, 50 Cent said it best, Sunny days wouldn't be special, if it wasn't for rain. Joy wouldn't feel so good, if it wasn't for pain. Death gotta be easy, 'cause life is hard It'll leave you physically, mentally, and emotionally scarred.

polotics 2y ago

Your average hides the shape of the curve: the life expectancy for those who managed to make it through the first 15 years was 35 to 40 additional years, so there were plenty of 50 year-olds around.