Humans fundamentally judge their situation relative to everyone else. It's one of the (many) arguments for reducing income inequality. People don't get hugely

Humans fundamentally judge their situation relative to everyone else. It's one of the (many) arguments for reducing income inequality. People don't get hugely happier just because everyone's technological situation has improved - that's just the new norm. I suspect most people would be happier as one of the most extraordinarily wealthy, admired, and free people of a given time than they would as a (relatively) struggling nobody in a later age. The fact that your car breaks down somewhat often is probably less likely to bother you when you know that it's the best there is.