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I'll bite although this isn't the most researched of my opinions that's for sure. Humans happiness isn't concerned with absolute standard of living but more co

by Trundle 10y ago

I'll bite although this isn't the most researched of my opinions that's for sure. Humans happiness isn't concerned with absolute standard of living but more comparative standard of living. I don't mean just conscious comparison in a competitive manner, I mean in setting what counts as normal to our brains. Consider the standard of living we've obtained compared to what humans had for the vast majority of our 200 000 years. Regular hot meals, basic medicine, and being able to fall asleep without fear of waking up to tigers ripping you and your family apart should have resulted in us all walking around in pure bliss 24/7 if advancement in standard of living was all that was important in absolute terms. But we're not. Some of us are happy. Some not. Some so unhappy that we straight up kill ourselves. Neither do I think past generations of humans, or any other animal that hasn't achieved our current standard of living yet, are all walking around in misery. Instead we care about comparative measures. How am I doing compared to how I was doing before. How am I doing compared to my peers. How am I compared to the guy down the street. How am I doing compared to all of those people I see on the internet/tv. Again, although phrased as if it's a conscious mental decision here, it's about subconsciously setting a 'normal' that's greater than we have. Think of the whole facebook making people feel inferior thing because they only see their friends highlights reel making life seem like it should be one long maldives vacation, except with inequality it's not an illusion and you actually are being exposed to better lifestyles. So inequality isn't fundamentally detrimental, however exposure to it is. At its most extreme it shows you fantastical lifestyles you could never realistically imagine to live. More realistically it's your neighbour buying a nicer car than you have. Either way it takes the great thing you have going and puts it in to a context within which it can't compete.

stale2002 10y ago
No matter how much money you have, you can't buy a better coke. Income inequality is a misleading metric. I would argue that equality has vastly increased over the years. The rich don't really live much better lives than the middle class. Rich or poor we all have roofs over our heads, we all have access to relatively affordable methods of travel to get anywhere in the world in a day, we all use the same IPhones, watch the same movies and drink the same Cokes. The things that the rich have access to aren't really that much better when you compare it to the old days when you contrast Kings living in Castles to the 90 percent who are just worrying about their next meal. The world has never been more equal.
- tao_oat 10y ago
  It doesn't sound like you've ever been poor. Quality of life is about far more than the goods you can consume. It's also about job security, your chances of getting promoted, autonomy, fulfillment, and so on. If you know that you're [absolutely screwed][1] if you get fired, or get sick, or miss a paycheck, you don't really get to feel safe. [1]: www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2015/01/07/majority-of-americans-are-one-surprise-away-from-financial-disaster-survey-says/
  - stale2002 10y ago
    Compared to how extremely screwed you'd be even just 200 years ago? Actually, not even that, 80 years ago. I think you underestimate how bad things used to be. Today, if something unexpected happens, you are almost certainly not going to die by like next week.
  - robocat 10y ago
    It doesn't sound like you have ever been to a poor country. > It's also about job security, your chances of getting promoted, autonomy, fulfillment, and so on For a large number of people in the world, they are wanting food, basic safety, and healthcare.
    - angry_octet 10y ago
      The fact that there are many billions of poor people in the world does not mean that attempting to address inequality in America is pointless tinkering at first world problems. Being well traveled isn't usually seen as helpful training for ignoring beggars and minimum wage people who need food stamps to eat, but there you go.
- CydeWeys 10y ago
  > No matter how much money you have, you can't buy a better coke. You absolutely can though. There are lots of premium soda brands out there on the market that cost significantly more than Coca-Cola that are made with better ingredients (such as real sugar, not HFCS), that are healthier for you, that use better artificial sugars, that have real flavoring so they don't need as much sugar to taste good (see GuS), etc. Or compare the homogenized product of "Simply Orange" (a Coca-Cola brand) to real non-additive orange juice that costs several times as much but is way more delicious. Or hell, look at how insanely expensive kombucha is ... My point is that you are introducing a completely artificial rule by limiting things to Coca-Cola, when in fact there is an entire spectrum of drinks out there, and you can spend significantly more money to get a significantly better product. The very rich do not drink nearly as much Coca-Cola as the poor; they have the money to afford better options, and so they do.

by Trundle 10y ago

stale2002 10y ago

No matter how much money you have, you can't buy a better coke. Income inequality is a misleading metric. I would argue that equality has vastly increased over the years. The rich don't really live much better lives than the middle class. Rich or poor we all have roofs over our heads, we all have access to relatively affordable methods of travel to get anywhere in the world in a day, we all use the same IPhones, watch the same movies and drink the same Cokes. The things that the rich have access to aren't really that much better when you compare it to the old days when you contrast Kings living in Castles to the 90 percent who are just worrying about their next meal. The world has never been more equal.

tao_oat 10y ago
It doesn't sound like you've ever been poor. Quality of life is about far more than the goods you can consume. It's also about job security, your chances of getting promoted, autonomy, fulfillment, and so on. If you know that you're [absolutely screwed][1] if you get fired, or get sick, or miss a paycheck, you don't really get to feel safe. [1]: www.forbes.com/sites/maggiemcgrath/2015/01/07/majority-of-americans-are-one-surprise-away-from-financial-disaster-survey-says/
- stale2002 10y ago
  Compared to how extremely screwed you'd be even just 200 years ago? Actually, not even that, 80 years ago. I think you underestimate how bad things used to be. Today, if something unexpected happens, you are almost certainly not going to die by like next week.
- robocat 10y ago
  It doesn't sound like you have ever been to a poor country. > It's also about job security, your chances of getting promoted, autonomy, fulfillment, and so on For a large number of people in the world, they are wanting food, basic safety, and healthcare.
  - angry_octet 10y ago
    The fact that there are many billions of poor people in the world does not mean that attempting to address inequality in America is pointless tinkering at first world problems. Being well traveled isn't usually seen as helpful training for ignoring beggars and minimum wage people who need food stamps to eat, but there you go.
CydeWeys 10y ago
> No matter how much money you have, you can't buy a better coke. You absolutely can though. There are lots of premium soda brands out there on the market that cost significantly more than Coca-Cola that are made with better ingredients (such as real sugar, not HFCS), that are healthier for you, that use better artificial sugars, that have real flavoring so they don't need as much sugar to taste good (see GuS), etc. Or compare the homogenized product of "Simply Orange" (a Coca-Cola brand) to real non-additive orange juice that costs several times as much but is way more delicious. Or hell, look at how insanely expensive kombucha is ... My point is that you are introducing a completely artificial rule by limiting things to Coca-Cola, when in fact there is an entire spectrum of drinks out there, and you can spend significantly more money to get a significantly better product. The very rich do not drink nearly as much Coca-Cola as the poor; they have the money to afford better options, and so they do.