Humanity has not changed much socially over the past millenium

Thanks for accepting the terms typhoon. As per my opponent's wish, I will proceed with my opening argument.Firstly, I don't see how my opponent can arrive at his sweeping resolution by only providing ONE example of something that has existed throughout time: religious conflict. He claims that the Crusades of the medieval times are very similar to the current conflict over the Holy Land. This doesn't prove his resolution at all. To prove that humans have not changed much socially would require an overwhelming amount of evidence that the human condition of 1011 is practically the same as it is in 2011. Common sense would dictate that this is a flawed belief, and I intend to provide support for humanity's transformation in all the aspects of social change, mentioned in the definition from R1.Economic - The Industrial RevolutionThere is a consensus among economic historians that this was the most important event in human history since the development of agriculture. Their judgements are sound, since the Industrial Revolution not only advanced technology and production mechanisms, but also fundamentally affected human life. Before this movement, manual labor was the means of production for nearly everything. The Industrial Revolution may have started in Britain, but it certainly had wide-ranging impact across the globe. It started out by mechanizing the textile-making process, and from there it developed an overall movement of industrialization which led to developments like the internal combustion engine and steam power generation. [1] The physical impact of such developments on society is obvious. With no more painstakingly long manual-labor processes, goods became much more widely avaiable. The Industrial Revolution also sparked the building of roads, canals, and railroads, making trading goods much easier than before as well as paving the way for efficient transportation. Before then, you were stuck with either walking or horseback if you wanted to travel across land. Better transportation=faster travel to destinations, better product availability through trade, etc. Plus, the increased industrialization sustained an overall increase in the world population and average standard of living. [2] There was also a mass exodus from farms to cities and towns, since people were seeking work in these new factories. Thus, the dominance of cities over the previous system of rural communities was created. To go off on a slightly less economic track, the overcrowding of cities which developed from the urbanization spawned a movement for the reform of public health, due to Chadwick's revelation that poverty and disease were connected. [2] Overall, the Industrial Revolution clearly has lasting effects even today, despite the fact that much of its technology has been superseded by newer forms. It is the highest and most far-reaching demonstration of how human society has changed over the past 200-250 years, let alone the past millennium.Technology - Digital RevolutionThis is essentially the modern day Industrial Revolution, providing even more societal alteration. Back in the 1000s, there were no cell phones, computers, or television. While it might be argued that these don't affect humanity itself, that would be an extremely erroneous conclusion. With the advent of digital media, easier communciation has been facilitated and society as a whole is more connected. Back in the 1000s, if I was a diplomat for the king of England and wanted to do business with France, I would have to either write a letter or travel there physically to communicate. Both methods made efficient communication nearly impossible. Nowadays, I could instantly call that person, e-mail them, or Skype them in under 5 seconds. Not only does this make personal communication easier, but companies now have the ability to market their products to a geographically-large audience. The transfer of news has also been made immensely easier by the Digital Revolution. One millennium ago, if you lived in England you wouldn't know what was going on in Africa. With rapidly distributed news media, the average person can know of happenings around the globe right from their own home, fostering a sense of greater "intimacy" with the world. Clearly not the case many centuries ago.Cultural - RenaissanceThis was a slightly more restricted movement, as it mainly concerned Europe. However, it did have effects which sprawled out across humanity as a whole. The art of the era became markedly more secular, depicting concrete objects and individuals rather than deities and religious figures. Wealthy patrons could have portraits of themselves commissioned by a painter, something which would have been considered a sin by the standards of medieval art, which focused on religious-based artwork. [3] Today, this secularization of art prevails. If it weren't for the Renaissance defying the conventions of artwork being solely religious, the greatest paintings and sculptures, such as Mona Lisa or The Thinker, would never have come about. Art might not be seen as something which directly impacts humanity, but since the Renaissance changed what was considered "acceptable" in art, it can be inferred that society would have lost many of its greatest works had the Renaissance or a similar movement not come about. Oh, and we also got the printing press as a result of the Renaissance's focus on classical literature, an invention which paved the way for better education and spread of ideas for years to come.Religious - Protestant ReformationSimply put, this trumps my opponent's analogy to the Crusades and represents an everlasting change on the face of religion. Consider this: the Protestant Reformation created Protestantism and its various denominations, which have a membership of around 800 million today [4]. By contrast, the combined population of the quarreling Arab states and Israel is 15-20 million, not to mention that it is a very small minority of that population which actually actively fights. Now, which seems like the more impactful event? The Protestant Refomation did not only create Protestantism, the form of Christianity followed by 800 million people today, or the Protestant work ethic as noted by Max Weber, a precursor to modern capitalism and a basis for the financial mindset of the United States [5] It also prompted a Counter Reformation by the Catholic Church. There's no more sale of indulgences to cleanse oneself of sins, along with various other corrupt practices. Why? The Council of Trent wanted to curb the spread of Protestantism, and in doing so it changed the Catholic Church from within. Of course, nowadays the violent conflicts that ensued between Catholics and Protestants at the time (Thirty Years' War) no longer exist, furthering the evidence of societal change. We don't see Catholics killing Protestants on the basis of religious conflict and vice versa like they did in the 16th and 17th centuries. Despite having ideological differences, the Catholic and Protestant churches have maintained a peaceful coexistence in modern times. The same cannot be said for opposing religious factions of the Middle East, but this does not mean that humanity as a whole hasn't evolved; it means those people haven't learned to cease their conflicts like the Catholics and Protestants learned to do.My opponent's contention has been soundly defeated by just a few examples of sweeping changes across society. While I intend to provide more, he will need to show ample evidence of societal status quo beyond his earlier example, as this does not prove that humanity as a whole has not changed much.[1]http://en.wikipedia.org...[2]http://www.logicmgmt.com...[3]http://public.wsu.edu...[4]http://en.wikipedia.org...[5]http://www.historyguide.org...