Until the eighteenth century most societies had a golden age myth about a time long ago when everyone was better off, more innocent or wealthy. The most obvious reason is that for the majority of people life was pretty terrible and so they reasoned there had to have been something better once. People also tend to cherish the memory of their youth, when they were healthier and happier, and so look at the old days fondly, even if they suffered great hardship at the time. That we don’t take golden ages seriously now is partly because we have historical records, including data; I have fond
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