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I actually agree with much of that assessment; I just don't think it paints the full story over the arc of history. I also don't think access to and domain ove
by drewcon 9y ago
I actually agree with much of that assessment; I just don't think it paints the full story over the arc of history. I also don't think access to and domain over raw materials or "riches" equates to wealth in the same way having access to charcoal is not the same as creating carbon fiber. Transforming those materials into useful technologies has happened exactly because of things like property rights (ownership), open markets, and the rule of law. It might not be perfect, but so far it does seem to work for our common benefit, over time, even acknowledging the hardships those toiling in the mines do seem to bear.
Its feels a bit myopic to pretend like the the miner mining iron ore 150 years ago used in the creation of a steam engine somehow only benefits from his direct wage, and not indirectly from the product he's helping to create. Yes, the direct monetary benefits accrue to the owners, but by and large those owners produce things of value (increasingly so) to society in a way that that makes that miner's great-grandson far far better off than a "lowest savage" today. I think this is the same false litany that tells us the world is getting worse and worse (especially for the poor), whereas data tells us the exact opposite.
So not everyone gets to be an owner and be directly rewarded, and that work is certainly hard, but we do all seem to share in the collective benefits ownership creates.