Life 500 Years Ago Sucked by Peter Diamandis (Scaling Abundance Series 7)
Many people romanticize the past, believing that life in “the good old days” was better than we have it today. This couldn't be further from the truth. By almost every measurable standard—from life expectancy and literacy to violence and child mortality—life was significantly harder in the past.
Life 500, 100, or even 50 years ago, was often painful, short, and filled with hardship. As Sadhguru wisely stated, “Technology has allowed humanity to take a break from survival.” Understanding that life for the average person today is vastly superior to what it was in the past—and that this is arguably the most exciting time in human history—is crucial for shifting from a pessimistic to an optimistic mindset, fostering an Abundance Mindset.
Over the next two blog posts, we’ll journey back in time, exploring life in “the good old days.” First, we'll examine the Middle Ages (circa the 1500s), and then, we'll jump forward to 1923.
A Glimpse into 1523
Imagine a small, forgotten village nestled in the Carpathian Mountains in the early 1500s. Life was a constant struggle. Let's consider the fictional, yet realistic, Kovač family. Ivan, the father, was weathered and worn from years of back-breaking labor. Ana, his wife, was a shadow of her former self. Their three children were thin and malnourished.
Their days began before dawn, seven days a week. Ivan toiled in the fields, while Ana and the children prepared a meager breakfast and then joined him in the fields. Meals were scarce, consisting of thin soups and foraged berries. Meat was a rare luxury. Winter was particularly brutal, with the cold seeping into their bones and illness a constant threat. Infant mortality was tragically high. Death was a frequent visitor.
The Romanticized Past vs. Reality
How often do we hear, “I wish we could live in a time before technology ruined everything”? We often romanticize the past out of ignorance. While the Kovač family's story is fictional, it's based on historical understanding. And it's fictional for a good reason: written accounts from that time primarily focus on the wealthy, not the common people.
As Amanda Mull points out in her article in *The Atlantic*, most peasants were illiterate, leaving behind few records of their daily lives. We know life was short, brutal, and difficult. The average lifespan was around 35 years, and child mortality was incredibly high. Epidemics were frequent and devastating. There was no running water, indoor plumbing, electricity, readily available nutritious food, cars, air conditioning, telephones, or any of the modern conveniences we take for granted.
Our Comment: It's easy to idealize a simpler time, but the lack of modern conveniences also meant a lack of basic necessities and protection from disease. Even kings lived in conditions we would consider incredibly uncomfortable today.
Does this sound like a paradise by Peter Diamandis? In our next blog post, we'll move closer to the present and examine life in 1923.
Our Comment: This fictionalized account, while not based on a specific family, paints a realistic picture of the hardships faced by many in the 16th century. It's important to remember that this was the reality for the vast majority of people, not just a few isolated cases.