Post by zacharyrychlo on Dec 1, 2010 12:36:45 GMT -5
After reading chapter four and reading about Canada's Golden Age and the underside of prosperity, it sounded to me a lot like another time that has happened much further in the past. The medieval times. Now, its not exactly the same where nobles and kings ran the country but the way people lived sounds a lot a like. It doesn't sound like there was much of a "middle class." The industrialists and the businesspeople were the rich and prosperous nobles. They didn't rule the people but they defiantly played a part in running the country. Then you have the underside. The peasants or in this case, workers and laborers. These people were very hard working and without them, the countries economy would not survive. The living conditions these people had to live in were appalling. One of every four babies born into poverty did not survive, dirty air, bad milk and water and outdoor washrooms led to disease and death. In the medieval times urban people lived under many of the same condtions. The "Golden Age" may not have been as bad as the medieval ages. But it's safe to say that both of those times in history were nothing to be proud of.