Besides, before the 1850s abolishing slavery would have been unthinkable.  Prior to the 1890s, labour unions were considered criminal syndicates. Before 1945, all reasonably serious political parties had (or could on short notice form) armed militias. Before the 1960s, terror bombing and concentration camps were considered perfectly acceptable as long as you kept them in the colonies (today empires tend to at least have the decency to pretend to be ashamed of such activities). Before the 1970s, murdering black people and gays was fun for the whole family. Before the late 1980s to early '90s, fistfights were considered a healthy sportsmanlike activity for young and adolescent males.

So hey, progress.

- Jake

If you only spend 20 minutes of the rest of your life on economics, go spend them here.