8 ms·

I keep seeing this drummed up, but at the same time global stats show that we are living collectively and individually in the most prosperous time in human hist

I keep seeing this drummed up, but at the same time global stats show that we are living collectively and individually in the most prosperous time in human history, with record low rates of poverty. The divide between rich, poor and middle class are largely led by one thing...stock holdings, among other volatile assets (though this is not what the media reports, I mean most of them are public companies.) I feel like Joseph Schumpeter warned about this. In the end, I think unlike most of the more radical ideas that are anti-market out there...people mostly just want better social safety nets. That's not a "reform" of capitalism, that's a reform of government.

onlyrealcuzzo 8y ago
A lot of people also want increased social mobility.
notabee 8y ago
Government will always be usurped by unrestrained capitalism, as that is the most competitive action. The dualistic thinking of your comment ignores this inherent flaw of having a system with basically unlimited potential concentration of wealth and power. Corporations and the wealthy become the government, because it is an advantage to do so. It's just like monopolies that naturally occur. Government just happens to be the biggest one. Corporations and the wealthy decide eventually that they do not need to pay a commensurate share into the public good, and they suck the economic vigor, health, and wellbeing out of the nations that they usurp because they are by definition those that have successfully hoarded more resources than others. Government has never been a truly separate entity from the wealth-holding class, except in cases of revolution (which all tend to return to baseline eventually).
geowwy 8y ago
I guess it depends how you define prosperity. Personally I wouldn't say we're getting more prosperous. Household debt is skyrocketing, savings are plummeting, income has been stagnant for decades. Most women can't afford to be a homemaker even if they want to. And the gap between rich and poor keeps growing.
dredmorbius 8y ago
Mean != 10%ile. Mean != 50%ile. Sufficience for the poorest (or at least the bottom half generally) is necessary.
- partiallypro 8y ago
  Global poverty is at an all time low, hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty in the past decade alone. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/19/world-bank-global-poverty-rate-drops-to-record-low.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/19/world-bank-global-poverty-ra...
  - dredmorbius 8y ago
    That's talking mostly cross-purposes. Inequality is most socially acute within a given society, culture, or country. And inequality, poverty, and social precariousness have been escallating in the US and other generally more advanced countries. Most global poverty alleviation has occurred in one country and one country only: China. The level of poverty alleviation is also based on an extreme measure -- dollars per day ($27/day is $10k/yr). Which, yes, makes a tremendous difference, but it's not as if we're talking about middle-class lifestyles. There's a whole host of other issues with the "the world is a better place" story -- yes, there is some truth to it, but if that's the beginning and ending of your argument, you've left out one hell of a lot of salient points. Many of which are causing very real pain for people across the advanced world, as their reality falls far short of their expectations. That is the sort of thing which can become exceptionally destabilising socially and politically. And has.

onlyrealcuzzo 8y ago

A lot of people also want increased social mobility.

notabee 8y ago

Government will always be usurped by unrestrained capitalism, as that is the most competitive action. The dualistic thinking of your comment ignores this inherent flaw of having a system with basically unlimited potential concentration of wealth and power. Corporations and the wealthy become the government, because it is an advantage to do so. It's just like monopolies that naturally occur. Government just happens to be the biggest one. Corporations and the wealthy decide eventually that they do not need to pay a commensurate share into the public good, and they suck the economic vigor, health, and wellbeing out of the nations that they usurp because they are by definition those that have successfully hoarded more resources than others. Government has never been a truly separate entity from the wealth-holding class, except in cases of revolution (which all tend to return to baseline eventually).

geowwy 8y ago

I guess it depends how you define prosperity. Personally I wouldn't say we're getting more prosperous. Household debt is skyrocketing, savings are plummeting, income has been stagnant for decades. Most women can't afford to be a homemaker even if they want to. And the gap between rich and poor keeps growing.

dredmorbius 8y ago

Mean != 10%ile. Mean != 50%ile. Sufficience for the poorest (or at least the bottom half generally) is necessary.

partiallypro 8y ago
Global poverty is at an all time low, hundreds of millions of people have been lifted out of poverty in the past decade alone. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/19/world-bank-global-poverty-rate-drops-to-record-low.html https://www.cnbc.com/2018/09/19/world-bank-global-poverty-ra...
- dredmorbius 8y ago
  That's talking mostly cross-purposes. Inequality is most socially acute within a given society, culture, or country. And inequality, poverty, and social precariousness have been escallating in the US and other generally more advanced countries. Most global poverty alleviation has occurred in one country and one country only: China. The level of poverty alleviation is also based on an extreme measure -- dollars per day ($27/day is $10k/yr). Which, yes, makes a tremendous difference, but it's not as if we're talking about middle-class lifestyles. There's a whole host of other issues with the "the world is a better place" story -- yes, there is some truth to it, but if that's the beginning and ending of your argument, you've left out one hell of a lot of salient points. Many of which are causing very real pain for people across the advanced world, as their reality falls far short of their expectations. That is the sort of thing which can become exceptionally destabilising socially and politically. And has.