Category: Civilization, History, and Anthropology

Not a good comparison because I’m not poor. But I would definitely step back into the shoes of my ancestors in 1890 to 1930. Possibly the best time to be wealthy in history. And servants are awesome, and anyone who says otherwise hasn’t been able to afford them.

But, that’s only back to 1850, then if you’re a poor person that might be an easy sell. Otherwise it’s pretty hard to look back into history with envy. Other than, the plague era, had starvation not been so harsh prior to 1000, living in the high middle ages, anywhere in Europe was certainly more mentally comforting than life in modernity (mindfulness) is for some today.

That said, medicine alone? My grandfather told me about the frequency of dying from something as silly as a needle prick while sewing. Or the chance of tuberculosis, polio, syphilis. My grandmother about painting a red X on the door during the Spanish flu. Myself, I’ve had cancer twice. I’d ‘ve been dead at 40.

But (as usual) Jayman, you’re correct that it’s status, not wealth per se that drives behavior. Because cooperation is so valuable, status is so valuable, that aside from life we tend to defend our status more so than our other interests (which is creepy if you research it.)

Reply addressees: @JayMan471

Not a good comparison because I’m not poor. But I would definitely step back into the shoes of my ancestors in 1890 to 1930. Possibly the best time to be wealthy in history. And servants are awesome, and anyone who says otherwise hasn’t been able to afford them.

But, that’s only back to 1850, then if you’re a poor person that might be an easy sell. Otherwise it’s pretty hard to look back into history with envy. Other than, the plague era, had starvation not been so harsh prior to 1000, living in the high middle ages, anywhere in Europe was certainly more mentally comforting than life in modernity (mindfulness) is for some today.

That said, medicine alone? My grandfather told me about the frequency of dying from something as silly as a needle prick while sewing. Or the chance of tuberculosis, polio, syphilis. My grandmother about painting a red X on the door during the Spanish flu. Myself, I’ve had cancer twice. I’d ‘ve been dead at 40.

But (as usual) Jayman, you’re correct that it’s status, not wealth per se that drives behavior. Because cooperation is so valuable, status is so valuable, that aside from life we tend to defend our status more so than our other interests (which is creepy if you research it.)