Is that really a fair framing? 200 yrs ago I'd guess most people had to do back breaking labor most of the time just scrape by enough to eat. Hans Rosling has

Is that really a fair framing? 200 yrs ago I'd guess most people had to do back breaking labor most of the time just scrape by enough to eat. Hans Rosling has that video that claims washing machines as one of the best inventions ever because it relieved women of being forced to watch clothes for 6-8 hours a day. Saying the people didn't used to need money means almost nothing. Food and shelter were not free. They required labor. I think I prefer the current world where I need money to the previous world where maybe I didn't but my actual lifestyle was horrible. As for the 1981 quote, what's special about 1981. If we pick 1941? 1881?. I have no clue about poor countries but my first guess as to why poor places have stayed poor would not be "because the top 2000 rich people in the world"