I don't think the past is better on all dimensions, only that we do not live in the best of all possible worlds and if we want to continue improving we can't stagnate - which I suspect we are outside of computing and some narrow areas like solar panels. Prices are supposed to go down and quality go up if technology is improving, you don't have to search far to find places this is not true. Peter Thiel has videos explaining this general view, controversial but widely regarded as the cleverest person in Silicon Valley.