this post was submitted on 23 Oct 2023
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Did peasants in the middle ages believe in a constitutional democracy? And yes, I'm aware we don't live in a perfect democracy, but it would still seem like utopia to people from a few centuries ago.
Fair point. We have come a far way, but humans always want more, so we want more utopia.
People who lived without all the convenience and comforts of our modern lives existed so everything's fine, no need to progress further. Pack it in folks, we're stopping progress here, it's not perfect but it's better than it ancestors had so our complaints are invalid.
Maybe it wasn't clear in my above comment, but I am not in favor of the status quo. My example was just to show how our current view is limited and we should very much strive for progress, since we don't know what is possible.
Sure, other people who lived a much harder life would think that our current times are fantastic. But of course our own perception is what counts when it comes to our own pursuit of happyness.
And of course, even today there are still millions of people who's life isn't that far removed from peasansts in the middle ages. Not to mention the still waste amount of difference in life quality and prosperity between different regions on this planet. Just because I'm happy enough to be born in one of the best places on this planet doesn't mean I can't realise, that many people have it much worse and that there is so much room for improvement if we overcome the greed of a few powerfull people.