The British philosopher David Hume, writing in the mid-18th century, observed: “To declaim against present times and magnify the virtue of remote ancestors, is a propensity almost inherent in human nature.”

This vein of thought goes back a long time. Nostalgic critics in imperial Rome lamented the decay of the stern republican virtues. Before that, Plato compared the indulgences of his fellow Athenians unfavourably with the self-denial of the neighbouring Spartans.