… is from page 335 of the “Random Thoughts” section of Thomas Sowell’s 2010 book, Dismantling America:
Despite people who talk glibly about “earlier and simpler times,” all that makes earlier times seem simpler is our ignorance of their complexities.
DBx: Yes. A similar error is made by people who talk glibly about “America’s golden age of manufacturing.” All that makes that earlier age seem “golden” – with its lower-paying, less-pleasant, and more-dangerous jobs – is people’s ignorance of the realities of yesterday’s economy compared to the realities of today’s economy.
