As I was reading this, I remembered my dream last night of me planning to go to the moon like some adventure. hehe
I think in the grand scheme of things, there is always an unknown "better" or "worse" potential depending on one's perspective. I'm sure societies back then would have wanted some things to be different: to have lived in a time where common illnesses have a cure, to have lived in a society, like you said, more egalitarian, etc. Just maybe like today, we can still see several evils and issues that we can still improve.
But that aside, I believe it is a good mindset to treat "now is the best time". This gratitude moves us to preserve the good we have and do much more good for our current era and the next. This future generation would then have more potential for good. So maybe perhaps, any generation can say: "now is the best time"
Very good point, the more we cherish, the more we protect!
Cg