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> Historically speaking, this is the greatest time on earth to be alive. This feels a little unsubstantiated. Wealth inequality has never been higher than it

• ithkuil 8y ago
  > Wealth inequality has never been higher than it is today Honest question: is that true? I mean practical weather (in)equality, not just comparing how many billion of dollars some few billionaires have vs the poorest people on Earth. In the past there were Kings and peasants, Masters and slaves, people who had everything by birth right and other people who had nothing and never could have it, not even the right to education. I'm not saying nowadays there are not instances of that in still too many contexts (not only in far away countries), but claiming that wealth inequality was never so big as today sounds quite odd to me.
• dorgo 8y ago
  >Wealth inequality has never been higher than it is today Wealth increased to an extent that inequality little matters. If homeless beggars have smartphones with access to unlimited knowledge, enough to eat and access to medical treatment superior to everything before, how do they compare to the kings of the past?
  • XorNot 8y ago
    Beggars may have smart phones but they still don't have a sanitary place to defecate or stable access to food. When the beggars have indoor plumbing, refrigerators, and food we can discuss whether having a smartphone means inequality is not a problem.