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@Daojoan

I miss the time when progressive tax rates meant that wealth accumulation plateaued well before individuals could afford to buy small countries. I don’t miss the fact that a small number of descendants of kings already had that much. I do miss the memory of Cromwell and Robespierre being front and centre of their minds if they tried to abuse that power.

I miss Labour and Civil Rights movements constantly gaining ground and the expectation that, even if things weren’t great for everyone now, they would be slightly better each year. I don’t miss the various forms of oppression that they fought against.

I miss corporations being accountable to governments. I don’t miss corporations like the East India Companies being de-facto governments.

I miss technology being exciting and each new advance making the world better. I don’t miss nuclear first-strike doctrine being acceptable military policy.

I miss the Geneva Convention being a thing that major powers took seriously and prosecuted war criminals who violated. I don’t miss all of the atrocities that led to people deciding it was necessary.

I am nostalgic for a small set of slices of the last 200 years of history, which never happened at the same time.