In the context of this debate, how should we understand the pasuk in Koheles (7:10) “Do not say, “How was it that the former days were better than these?” For not out of wisdom have you asked concerning this.”?
It sounds as though Koheles does not consider the earlier times necessarily “better” even factoring in yeridas hadoros.
On the other hand, perhaps “former days” refer to more recent times than prior generations? Could “better” focus on the gashmi and not the ruchni? Does his limiting his critique to “wisdom” allow that the observation may be correct, yet nonconstructive to worry about?