The greatest kings of history had a worse standard of living than much of humanity has today. Certainly the average American has a vastly superior standard of l

The greatest kings of history had a worse standard of living than much of humanity has today. Certainly the average American has a vastly superior standard of living. Think of things the ancients could only dream of that are available to most people in developed nations: - Fast transportation - Antibiotics - Instant global communications - All of human knowledge in your pocket - Climate controlled buildings - Access to the global supply chain for goods Yet scarcity persists, and people want more because wants are relative. A thousand years from now, people will be jealous of others who have an annual off-world holiday, a family jet, life-extension therapy... And even then, lots of people will work hard because they want to improve their standard of living. As long an human minds remain bound to human bodies, then we are limited by the finite resources of the physical world.