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Oftentimes when we look back on history, it can be tempting to see the good parts. The things that seem better than they are now, especially for those who were well off in one way or another.
The times we live in are great, but when you’re living in it every single day, the bad parts tend to shine a little brighter.
That said, when someone on Reddit asked whether or not people would trade our modern comforts for an elevated position in the past, pretty much no one said yes.
15. We have a few questions.
Depends, do I keep everything else?
Knowledge, vaccines I already got (ie immunity) – can I choose where to go back to and prepare? If yes I’d definitely go back and jump start a lot of inventions.
Everyone here is only thinking about how their life would be negatively affected (I do too by making sure I wouldn’t just get sick and die) but no one thinks about how much you could help literally everyone alive right now, the more back you go, the bigger the risk, the bigger the reward.
Staying in the present is the best choice for you, going back could be the best thing for humanity, ever.
14. If you could take your knowledge with you…
I would take a tiny step up for a tiny step back. Industrialist family in the early 1900s instead of a broke family in the early 2000s… I could invest with amazing results…
13. That went downhill fast.
Yes. Go back to 1870 and rob a fucking train with no repercussions.
Other than getting shot without a trial.
Or hung with a trial. Come to think of it, law back then was a lot less law and a lot more like murder.
12. We really do have it pretty good.
No. Never. No matter how much todays society sucks and has it’s flaws, it’s still astronomically better than for example the middle ages.
11. Things weren’t exactly safe.
I’d prefer to be a commoner in the 2020’s rather than a king in the 1020’s
I can still live a long and happy life now vs constantly being at war against disease, the french, and conspirators.But worst of all…the French.
Also, hello my Kiwi neighbour.
10. It’s just the hard facts.
Hard pass. A average person in a poor country lives better than a Roman emperor. Eradicated disease, vaccine, hygiene, internet…
9. You’ll hear this again and again.
Heck no. As a woman, I have rights in this time.
In the past, even in the recent past, I would be completely at the mercy of men. I don’t care how high up I would be in status, I would still be susceptible to legalized domestic violence and rape with no means of getting a divorce.
Time traveling is not for women or minorities.
8. Who you are definitely factors in.
Hell no. I’m gay, female, Jewish, chronically ill, and a fan of indoor plumbing, electricity, and modern medicine. I’ll stay right here, thank you.
None of those things would go down well in the past. They still don’t go down well for a lot of people today even
Plus netflix!
7. There are a lot of downsides.
Definitely not, women were basically property of men, they were literally second class citizens, gay rights weren’t that great either, and I could go on mentioning racial segregation, etc. Things are not perfect now either, but they used to be way worse, unless you were a straight, white man… This is just from the culture/society point of view, but medicine etc wasn’t that advanced either.
Yeah and talking about how unadvanced medicine was they literally thought in the 80s that babies didn’t feel pain like adults do. So they would do insane stuff like open heart surgery, circumcisions, and other surgery with no anesthesia. No wonder some 80s babies are so messed up mentally they essentially were tortured when they came out the womb.
6. Women have more reasons than most.
Hard no! For one main reason: periods. They’re a nightmare today, so going back to before pads, tampons, diva cups, etc. were invented is a terrible idea.
Also, the whole “women are property/lesser citizens” thing is also a huge detractor.
5. We do have it pretty good.
There are lot things wrong with the world right now but this is the best time to be alive. Better to live in an uncertain future than a terrible past.
No. We never had it as good as today but some people dont see that. Would maybe go back to 2018-2019 before the pandemic
4. Maybe if you didn’t have to go back so far?
If I could go back to the 1990s then yes.
Life was fun and optimistic, limited media was a shared experience across the country and home use of the internet was relatively rare.
People had a better sense of humour and there was no social media to cocoon minority echo-chambers.
3. It wasn’t all bad.
I don’t need to be in a better societal position. Give me a homestead in the Midwest circa 1800 outside a town, and I’d be happier than a pig in shit. I wouldn’t be alienated from my labor. I’d work less and be self sufficient. Communities were stronger. Taylorism hadn’t been invented yet. The industrial revolution and all its consequences had only just begun. Police didn’t exist. No robber barons.
Capitalism was just an idea some guy named Adam Smith wrote about. The climate was stable. Nuclear weapons, predator drones, and Raytheon knife missiles hadn’t been constructed yet. Mass surveillance was impossible. You could build and heat your home with your own two hands and a hatchet.
Basically, what I’m trying to say is, if you ignore the mass murder, the Unabomber had some decent points about industrial society. Not novel ones, mind you — Marx wrote similar things 150 years prior to his deranged killing spree. But perhaps society was better when it was simpler, if you ignore the slavery and lack of plumbing and all that other horrible stuff.
2. We just wouldn’t be able to handle it.
Very few people living in the western world today would be able to handle the loss of modern conveniences.
We live in a world were most people not only do not know hot to fix anything but also don’t know that things can be fixed.
1. Hard pass.
No. Even though I’m working class, life is exponentially better for someone in my position today than even just 150-200 years ago. But to be in a higher class and go back 30-40 years, definitely. I think, financially speaking, that’s what most of us today really want, the security our parents (or maybe grandparents) had.
There was an economist who said all society benefited from innovations of the prior generation. Going back wd erase those innovations. Meaning no travel by plane or car, so basically limited movement. No smart phones or phones for that matter. No television, radio. If you want to hear music basically has to be live. No antibiotics and vaccines, or even aspirin. So minor ailments can’t be treated. No electricity or indoor plumbing. No fridge or microwave. No kindle or access to millions of books.
Not even Alexander the Great who conquered half the known territory lived as well as I do right now. Or, cleopatra. Or, Elizabeth 1st. They got ill w things like consumption. Except for the homeless, even the poor in this country live better than royalty two hundred years ago or more.
I agree with all of these folks, especially as a woman!
Would you go? Stay? Tell us why in the comments!
