3 ms·

Well... on his/her defense, the quality of life might still suck for some people, as you aptly pointed out, but that doesn't contradict the original statement..

by ipince 16y ago

jshen 16y ago
and there was no evidence given to support the original statement. How is quality of life for the middle class better now even though the disparity between them and the rich is far larger than before. I think I gave concrete examples of how it's worse, which is more than the OP.
- zacharypinter 16y ago
  An economist (I forget which one) posed an interesting thought experiment: Would you rather be a millionaire 100 years ago, or middle-class today. Sure, some people would choose 100 years ago, but a large majority of people, when asked, would rather live a middle-class life today than as millionaires 100 years ago. Clean water, sewer systems, restaurants, the Internet, television, microwaves, dishwashers, transportation, etc all make a middle-class lifestyle today far better than it was 100 years ago.
  - jshen 16y ago
    I'm talking about how the middle class is disappearing. A thought experiment that guarrantees middle class status for your whole life seems to miss the point.
  - billybob 16y ago
    I'd also choose being middle-class today, but there are several complicating factors. 1) Loss aversion. I know that I like modern conveniences and would hate to lose them. Psychologically, we place greater weight on losing something than getting something. Maybe I'd be dumb not to give up my microwave burritos for fresh roasted grouse, but the burritos are comfortingly familiar. 2) I'm just guessing about fresh roasted grouse. What ARE the nice features of being a millionaire 100 years ago? I'm probably ignorant about most of them. Maybe people back then would pity me for not experiencing what they did. 3) I'm a bad estimator of what will make me happy. Sure, I like the internet. Does it make me happier, or does it just scratch weird psychological itches? People WANT to play Farmville, but does it make them happy? Maybe I'd be happier having 10 close friends in my neighborhood and no telephone than having 200 friends on Facebook. The one thing that's hard to dispute is that illness was more likely and more painful in the past. Other than that, whether then or now is better is something I'm unable to judge well. And I suspect the same is true for most people.

Well... on his/her defense, the quality of life might still suck for some people, as you aptly pointed out, but that doesn't contradict the original statement..

by ipince 16y ago

Well... on his/her defense, the quality of life might still suck for some people, as you aptly pointed out, but that doesn't contradict the original statement..

jshen 16y ago

and there was no evidence given to support the original statement. How is quality of life for the middle class better now even though the disparity between them and the rich is far larger than before. I think I gave concrete examples of how it's worse, which is more than the OP.

zacharypinter 16y ago
An economist (I forget which one) posed an interesting thought experiment: Would you rather be a millionaire 100 years ago, or middle-class today. Sure, some people would choose 100 years ago, but a large majority of people, when asked, would rather live a middle-class life today than as millionaires 100 years ago. Clean water, sewer systems, restaurants, the Internet, television, microwaves, dishwashers, transportation, etc all make a middle-class lifestyle today far better than it was 100 years ago.
- jshen 16y ago
  I'm talking about how the middle class is disappearing. A thought experiment that guarrantees middle class status for your whole life seems to miss the point.
- billybob 16y ago
  I'd also choose being middle-class today, but there are several complicating factors. 1) Loss aversion. I know that I like modern conveniences and would hate to lose them. Psychologically, we place greater weight on losing something than getting something. Maybe I'd be dumb not to give up my microwave burritos for fresh roasted grouse, but the burritos are comfortingly familiar. 2) I'm just guessing about fresh roasted grouse. What ARE the nice features of being a millionaire 100 years ago? I'm probably ignorant about most of them. Maybe people back then would pity me for not experiencing what they did. 3) I'm a bad estimator of what will make me happy. Sure, I like the internet. Does it make me happier, or does it just scratch weird psychological itches? People WANT to play Farmville, but does it make them happy? Maybe I'd be happier having 10 close friends in my neighborhood and no telephone than having 200 friends on Facebook. The one thing that's hard to dispute is that illness was more likely and more painful in the past. Other than that, whether then or now is better is something I'm unable to judge well. And I suspect the same is true for most people.