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In some ways we are, but in other ways we aren’t rich at all. In our ability to procure food and entertainment and travel, even a very poor person is pretty ri
by mikeash 8y ago
In some ways we are, but in other ways we aren’t rich at all.
In our ability to procure food and entertainment and travel, even a very poor person is pretty rich compared to the historical average. But if you consider our ability to have leisure time, walk away from an employer, or get other people to do stuff for us, the moderately wealthy of the distant past were still much richer than today’s middle class, let alone today’s poor.
- AnimalMuppet 8y agoWhat you say is true, but what fraction of the population was "moderately wealthy" in the distant past? What fraction of the population could walk away in the past, and what fraction can walk away today?
- mikeash 8y agoAll good things to keep in mind, but the comparison here was with the wealthy of past eras. I often see the statement taken to extremes, saying that a poor person in a first world country today is better off than an ancient king. And in many ways, it’s absolutely true! But in other ways it’s not. My main point is that wealth is as much about power as it is about possessions, and when it comes to power, your relative wealth is all that matters.