Worldbuilding without the post-WW/WWII/Cold War glasses (TL, CR etc.)

[vicky_molokh]

Originally Posted by Polydamas

I still think Asta Kask is looking at the 1920s through post-WW II glasses (“obviously governments regulate X”). Goverments in the 1920s had very little involvement in most of the areas that we expect them to regulate today.

Greetings, all!

I think this quote deserves to spawn its own thread in the context of consistent worldbuilding. Many of our ideas about how the world (including many a fictional one) works are derived from how our, modern world works. And the string of World War / World War II / Cold War have shaped many aspects of our world. And yet, many settings did not develop along the same historical lines. Some I wonder:

What preconceptions and ideas should be 'unlearned' when designing a world (with TL, CRs, Statuses, Stigmas and other features) which hasn't experienced WW-/ColdWar-equivalents?

Gun Control has been mentioned. Passports are another one (passport/border checks were extremely mild/non-existent pre-WWI by modern standards).

What else?

Thanks in advance!