Was Life Better Before The Industrial Revolution?

Discussion in 'History' started by RichardTheFrog, Nov 22, 2014.

  1. scratcho

    scratcho Lifetime Supporter Lifetime Supporter

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    Obama did it! Think about the times in which these great accomplishments were created. Diversions were few to non existent and those that were artisans, builders, writers had time to

    spend on creating the fantastic and beautiful objects we now revere. Time. Not so much now, as the modern world lurches along with the enticing diversions created by

    the industrial revolution and what we seemingly revere now--is Walmart, new vehicles and keeping and/or "getting ahead" of the next fellow. Just MO.
     
  2. Asmodean

    Asmodean Slo motion rider

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    It's all about the culture at that specific time and the society that stimulates it. There are still enough people composing classical music, but they focus on different things in composition it seems because a lot of things have been done already. The same seems to count for those ultra realistic painting style. It is still done but in the art communities there is overall far less interest in it as it has been done to dead and perfection by people in centuries before us.
    The creativity and artistic talent is still here and is executed as well. Just not in that particular way (at large).

    I also cant really agree about all buildings today being just about crude functionality (I used to share that view though!). Lots of new strange, artsy and original architecture as well (you may just not dig these modern styles of our days ;)). Most buildings back then were also mainly practical and build purely functional btw, but maybe we just like that old pitoresque look of those more (I know I like the look of those old functional buildings of natural materials). It were the more wealthy and those in power who caused there to be these amazing building styles and who stimulated the 'industry' and all these creative builders to get skilled in the first place.
     
  3. BlackBillBlake

    BlackBillBlake resigned HipForums Supporter

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    I'll get back to you on that after I've had time to process the very disappointing election results here. Currently, I'm feeling a bit pissed off.
     
  4. Asmodean

    Asmodean Slo motion rider

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    I zapped by it last night. The problem with scotland is that it's full of scots! :D

    Yes, I really like Braveheart :p

    I guess it's a good day for an afternoon beer session over there.
     
  5. themnax

    themnax Senior Member

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    but that's my point, you could have had them and more so, hundreds of years sooner, had not fanaticism repressed development during the middle ages.
    and would not have needed an 'industrial revolution' to make up for the time that had been lost to it.

    the excuse that we can't have what we want without doing everything wrong and screwing everything up,
    that's really one of those very big lies, and its not all that difficult, to see the motivation behind it.

    (ancient egypt had the technological basis for manufacturing integrated circuits, of course they had no idea that they did, nor did they develop it. likewise the greeks knew steam, though they never used it as a practical means to propel transportation. most of the pieces, common to our post industrial world, already existed, some were even on the brink of being put together, and then fanatacism came along and slowed the process down to almost a standstill. it was only when the moors, began rebuilding a small portion of impoverished europe, that minds were opened, clearing the way, for again, what we are calling a revolution, that really, if it hadn't been held back for so long, would have never needed to be a 'revolution' at all.)

    today we're seeing a rise of interests, calling themselves 'conservative', who want to bring about a similar repression of open minded and innovated thought, in order to create and preserve, a kind of feudalistic, hierarchal advantage, to their less then one percent selves.
     
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  6. LittleBee

    LittleBee Members

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    I guess it was normal and usual for the people who had lived at that time.
    No doubt their life would be tough for us who are spoiled by comfort, food, etc.
     
  7. Toasted Oats

    Toasted Oats Members

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    It certainly was in Paleolithic times around 15,000 years ago. Society was based on cooperation rather than competition. Average life span was 68-78 if you survived childhood.
     
  8. wooleeheron

    wooleeheron Brain Damaged Lifetime Supporter

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    A woman from a stone age Yanamamo-like tribe in Brazil, moved to NYC. She said she like fast food and TV, things like that, but what struck her was seeing thousands of desperately lonely people crowded together on the streets like so many cattle. She never knew it was possible to feel so lonely, even though she grew up without so much as a radio or a mailman, seeing one or two strangers a year if she was lucky. Still, when given the chance to live in civilization, such people will usually take it, because their life expectancy is maybe 30 in the jungle, and they already know all about that lifestyle.

    You see a similar effect with immigrants today. The children of Chinese immigrants, for example, tend to excel in school and work, but the effect goes away by the third generation and they tend to become ordinary average Americans. The question is not whether it is better to be ignorant and use Three Stooges stone age tools, but what have we sacrificed and how can we reclaim what we have lost. We have the technology now to create a heaven on earth, while the alternative is something you don't want to dwell upon.
     
    Toasted Oats likes this.

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