Yes, it is true that we are all much better off than we were 200 years ago. This is due to both economic and technical progress. For instance, I can light and h

Yes, it is true that we are all much better off than we were 200 years ago. This is due to both economic and technical progress. For instance, I can light and heat my house economically. However, the 90th percentile might be even better off today if there was more equality - we could more efficiently share the fruits of our technical progress. PG makes an effective argument that such equality would reduce the benefit and thus the motivation to innovate and create the present level of comfort / economic success : http://www.paulgraham.com/inequality.html http://www.paulgraham.com/inequality.html Overall, equality is a complex beast. I think that we need some level of inequality to ensure that there is sufficient motivation to succeed. We also need to do our best to help those who 'fall behind'