People find it difficult to evaluate the period in which they live because it is impossible to be objective for emotional reasons. The vast majority of people think that the past is better than the present. This applies both to their own past and to the past of the country and the world. A thirty-year-old finds the places where he spent time with his friends in his youth “changed and degraded”. Amongst themselves, the elderly believe that many things in the country were better in their youth and “talk about the irresponsibility and lack of decency of the young”. This belief is recorded in Egyptian papyri and is known to have persisted since Ancient Greece.
The twentieth century begins with the collapse of 19th century society. This collapse is the result of the rebuilding of society on a different basis during the industrial era. The Bolshevik revolution in Russia had major repercussions on a global scale. But this period is over and we are now living in a very different era. Metropolitanization has rapidly transformed lifestyles and the established cultures of societies. There has been a huge increase in the number of people living alone, and having one child has become the norm for families. On the other hand, the unverified hypothesis of the market economy that continuous development, growth and progress are possible has led to the use of consumption parameters as an indicator of development. Thus, people feel obliged to work in order to possess objects of desire that they do not need beyond measure. This has resulted in the spread of individualism and a sense of putting oneself ahead of others and society.
Intergenerational continuity lost
The current order in which we live makes it impossible to sustain and develop the world economy and civilization. This period has brought about a great restructuring and change, the outcome of which is unpredictable. The change, which destroys the continuity between generations, has given birth to an understanding of history that erases the past. Each generation seems to think that history began with itself.