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Very skeptical of this idea. Were more than 10% of humans were in "extreme poverty" when we lived as hunter-gatherers? Were all humans in "extreme poverty" at t

Very skeptical of this idea. Were more than 10% of humans were in "extreme poverty" when we lived as hunter-gatherers? Were all humans in "extreme poverty" at that time? "Extreme poverty" is caused when capitalism invades an area, appropriates all assets, and then the people basically either have to sell themselves into extremely-low-paid labor or starve.

wyager 11y ago
>"Extreme poverty" is caused when capitalism invades an area, I take it you haven't read any pre-industrial-revolution history books lately?
Arnt 11y ago
Two comments: You could make the same point about nobility, all the way back to the rulers of the first cities. And hunter-gatherers too live in dire poverty when the hunting and gathering fails, as it does some years. Fewer than 10% of years?
raymondgh 11y ago
Agreed! First time below 10% since mankind's creation of poverty. I can't comment on the causality of capitalism, but I agree with Mandela that poverty is manmade.
- wyager 11y ago
  Are you one of those people who believes in the biblical history where people lived to be 200 years old and such? At what point in the past was the average person better off than they are now?
  - raymondgh 11y ago
    Before you posted this comment :) In all seriousness, I'm interpreting poverty as lacking the basic capacity to participate in society. In that sense, the average score of something like the human development index is not relevant to whether or not systemic exclusion of classes of people in society is prevalent. The organization of resource-controlling groups in industry and government are generally what determines the social and economic mobility of a population. Before some point in civilized history, these constructs did not exist to create such vast disparity in human dignity and wealth. In other words, neither the cause nor the existence of poverty is measurable by the average standard of living.
afsina 11y ago
A suggested read: A short history of man, Progress and decline. From Hans Herman Hoppe. http://www.hanshoppe.com/2015/03/a-short-history-of-man-progress-and-decline-by-hans-hermann-hoppe/ http://www.hanshoppe.com/2015/03/a-short-history-of-man-prog...
rmah 11y ago
Before the industrial revolution, 90%+ of people lived in "extreme poverty" (as we would describe it today). Note, "extreme poverty" does not mean "extreme misery" nor does it necessarily mean "hungry". People can be in poverty and fairly happy (or the reverse).

wyager 11y ago

>"Extreme poverty" is caused when capitalism invades an area, I take it you haven't read any pre-industrial-revolution history books lately?

Arnt 11y ago

Two comments: You could make the same point about nobility, all the way back to the rulers of the first cities. And hunter-gatherers too live in dire poverty when the hunting and gathering fails, as it does some years. Fewer than 10% of years?

raymondgh 11y ago

Agreed! First time below 10% since mankind's creation of poverty. I can't comment on the causality of capitalism, but I agree with Mandela that poverty is manmade.

wyager 11y ago
Are you one of those people who believes in the biblical history where people lived to be 200 years old and such? At what point in the past was the average person better off than they are now?
- raymondgh 11y ago
  Before you posted this comment :) In all seriousness, I'm interpreting poverty as lacking the basic capacity to participate in society. In that sense, the average score of something like the human development index is not relevant to whether or not systemic exclusion of classes of people in society is prevalent. The organization of resource-controlling groups in industry and government are generally what determines the social and economic mobility of a population. Before some point in civilized history, these constructs did not exist to create such vast disparity in human dignity and wealth. In other words, neither the cause nor the existence of poverty is measurable by the average standard of living.

afsina 11y ago

A suggested read: A short history of man, Progress and decline. From Hans Herman Hoppe. http://www.hanshoppe.com/2015/03/a-short-history-of-man-progress-and-decline-by-hans-hermann-hoppe/ http://www.hanshoppe.com/2015/03/a-short-history-of-man-prog...

rmah 11y ago

Before the industrial revolution, 90%+ of people lived in "extreme poverty" (as we would describe it today). Note, "extreme poverty" does not mean "extreme misery" nor does it necessarily mean "hungry". People can be in poverty and fairly happy (or the reverse).