You know, I hear this quit a bit but I really don't like this position because it ignores all the very real issues and seemingly justifies the current state of

You know, I hear this quit a bit but I really don't like this position because it ignores all the very real issues and seemingly justifies the current state of things through some strange "the greater good" lens. Sure, we are better off as a percentage, because we now have 7 billion plus people in the world. 20 years ago there were only 5 billion... but the actual numbers of people with poor living standards is, I would venture, actually higher. There were only 2 billion in 1927... As to your original point that little improvement in living standards being a "myth caused by lamp-posting"... I don't know how you can ignore the actual numbers regarding lack of living standards reflecting productivity gains for the lower-middle class... It's not a myth at all, it's a fact that we work longer hours, for less pay adjusted for inflation, with higher-costs of living. The industrial revolution was supposed to be about giving man the time to pursue more noble goals, but instead it became a notch in the capitalists belt of exploitation of the workers. In short, I think your post is nonsensical.