Is it fair to compare our standard of living to those who lived in the 1800's, or early 1900's?

Question

Why or why not?

Answer 1

I see where you are coming from.

It is not reasonable to compare apples to peanut butter, which is comparing our lives to that of the early 1900's.  It doesn't make sense to do comparisons based on different technological advances and opportunities.

If I compare today to 1950, I would not be able to find a job because a woman's place was in the home.  I would not be able to type on this computer, and would not be able to take a laptop apart to it's tiniest pieces and re-assemble it.

History is good, and necessary.  Without learning about history, we will be destined to make the mistakes of the past again because it would not be remembered.  However, to compare today to back then is not reasonable.

I would LOVE to live the simpler life without the stupid cell phones ringing every five minutes when I am enjoying a stupid television show about absolutely nothing.  I would LOVE to walk out into my back yard and pick a bell pepper and tomato to put in my fresh salad, and add some zucchini to my soup.  I would love the simpler life of the early 1900's.  I am not afraid of hard work.

The degree of entitlement that has become commonplace is troublesome.  Kids expect the Wii or the PSP for doing their homework, instead of doing the homework for the satisfaction of education and mental betterment.

Sad, isn't it, that there is a comparisson between things that are so unalike.  

Fair?  I don't know if that is the best choice of words, and you seem to agree, however, it is not reasonable.

Answer 2

Fair?? Why do you use that word?  We study the people, events, situations of the past, on a regular basis, it is called History!  Is it important to do so?  Absolutely!  Why?  It is a very important aspect of progression.  If we don't know about the past, we tend to make the same mistakes, and there is an old saying about "re-inventing the wheel."  It is not necessary to do the same things that others did, because usually, there is a better and more efficient way to do  it that has been invented.  Let us take only one minor example. The process of bring milk to the consumer.  There is no way we would return to the old process of having unpasturized, non sterile milk, because we have achieved a better, safer method both of obtaining the milk, processing it, and storing it.  So if we had not learned anything from the past, we would still be doing things the same way, and the food born illnesses that might be borne in the milk would only be magnified exponentially, because of the huge industry that exists.  I hope this is an answer to your question.