It was my understanding that those who worked on the pyramids did so during the agricultural year down time.. when the Nile was in flood? So the cost in Labor may not have been that great - can't have the laborers lolling about. but those who know more about the period may correct me. As for whether modern civilisation now regret that the pyramids were built, of course we don't.. They happened. Should we build monstrosities now in case they become tourism attractions 5,000 years later? I would have said not.. but we seem to build them anyway.. We can be just as wasteful as the Pharoahs, just for different reasons..

What is common to all those projects is that only few benefit.

The Sydney Opera House have increased the price of tickets thus makes opera less affordable for most people, especially for those who don't live in Sydney; and those who built the pyramids could, with similar effort build themselves better and more comfortable houses.

The fact that some gain from tourism, ignores the millions of tourists whose purse turns lighter as a result, often because they are chided by their snobbish colleagues for "haven't seen it yet".

Perhaps the like of the pyramids of today is the prestigious space program, sending a handful of people out to the moon and Mars and giving everyone else the illusion as if humanity has alternatives in case it kills the environment of this planet.

Yes, let's wallow in regrets.

The pyramids shouldn't have been built.

Greek temples etc. shouldn't have wasted all that effort and labour of working people.

Hammurabi shouldn't have organised all those irrigation works, it must have disrupted all the riverine ecosystems.

Charlemagne shouldn't have done whatever evil he did, I don't know specifically but I'm sure he did evil of some sort.

Alfred shouldn't have burn the cakes.

The Ottomans shouldn't have captured Constantinople.

The Polynesians shouldn't have colonised the Pacific, for some obscure reason.

Boy, I'm glad I got that out of my system.

Now, infrastructure in the modern world: what real harm would it do if India had a water storage and reticulation system as effective as Australia's ? Electrification across the country ? A medical system equal to Australia's ? A system of paved roads like here ? Ports to handle all the necessary in and out of goods ? A decent education system, especially for girls, to provide staff for all of those projects ? Eventually, affluence like Australia's ?

And Africa too ? What would be the harm of all Third World countries striving to develop similar infrastructure to Australia's ?

Or aren't they human beings like us, they have naturally fewer rights than us ?

Joe

I agree with Curmudgeon the pyramids was basically a work for the dole scheme that got a bit out of hand. :-)
(~\_/~)

The opera House is a catastrophe. A miserable little singing hall, with lousy acoustics, clad in a pretentious roof. The whole thing cost 10 times what a decent opera house would have cost, money that could have built good singing halls in each capital.

The pyramids were a statement of incredible strength, unlike the opera house a statement of incredible ego. The mere fact the Egyptians could build them put fear into all their enemies.

Building the pyramids did a lot of good for average Egyptians, with jobs & cowering their enemies. The opera house on the other hand cost the average NSW a great deal of money, for absolutely no tangible benefit, but an on going cost, to cater to a small elite.

Building the pyramids was a great engineering feat
requiring thousands of workers. The remains of these
pyramids are still impressive.

The Australian Opera House (the first in Australia)
was built in Sydney and the architectural design
made world headlines. Despite its cost and complications
in building, it has become one of the foremost cultural
attractions of Australia. The Opera House can seat more
than 6,600 spectators. Its halls provide facilities for
symphony concerts, opera, drama, ballet, films. solo
recitals, exhibitions and conventions. The roof shells
cover the two largest performing halls and a restaurant.

The financing for this huge building was raised by public
appeal, and, later, by profits from lotteries run for the
purpose. The lotteries raised more than 5,500,000 Australian
dollars a year. The Opera House finally had its gala opening
in 1973. And has been playing to packed houses every since.