> I wonder how did they get into poverty in the first place Humanity has always, by current standards, been dirt poor and living near starvation levels. The l

> I wonder how did they get into poverty in the first place Humanity has always, by current standards, been dirt poor and living near starvation levels. The last 250 years of industrialism has changed that enormously. To answer your question, they got into poverty because they had always lived in poverty, since the dawn of time.