Considering things like modern medicine not being available, infant and child mortality, the gruesome nature of most work back then… would a “standard” commoner from back then laugh at how ‘soft’ our world has become from their point of view?
What can we infer from people’s mindsets and resilience back then vs now, and do you think we’re on the verge of a return to these conditions?
I think techno-feudalism has the capacity to be much more brutal than any old time machiavellan clown. The way our minds are deliberately manipulated by algorithms nowadays are much more subtle and insidious than anything the tyrants of yesteryear could’ve dreamt up, while at the same time convincing people they have it better than ever.
Maybe not… nutrition and general health care are a lot better these days, as is education and general access to information so if you took say, a 40-year old from 1875 and introduced them to a 40-year old from 2025, they might see someone who’s bigger than them, has perfect teeth, looks half their age, and has a pretty broad general knowledge about all sorts of things they’d know nothing about.
A bit like if a 40-year old from today met someone from the year 2175 who looked about 20, was insanely fit and a foot taller than them and could casually describe how the cure for cancer, AGI, quantum computers and fusion power worked. Could be pretty intimidating!