One big difference between life in 1719 and today is the pervasive feeling that humanity is somehow bad or immoral and that the sustainability of the lives that we live are precarious. The combination of the internet, advances in science and our understanding of the world, the complete inundation of all media with news, and the fact that bad news is easier to engage with, has created this curtain of gloom across the educated spheres of the human race.<p>I personally believe this phenomenon is the cause of a great many of the current problems we have today. Excessive greed and hoarding is a fear response. Rabid political polarization either to try to fix the problems we face or ignore them and protect our mental health. There is a large shortage of faith in the future, and there's a lot of realization that technological advancements of the past have created some of the overwhelming problems we face today.<p>Distraction and nostalgia are the best selling items in the modern world. Depression and suicide are the highest they've ever been. The social fabric is unwinding, and communities are dying, and an article like this comes along that makes me wonder just how it would feel to struggle and strive in a world in which the future had so much potential.<p>Who knows though? Maybe this feeling is something that was pervasive in these times.