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Sorry, I don't think your comment is very well thought-out. How about Roman and Byzantine (Costantinople) cities, where bread was distributed for free each day

Sorry, I don't think your comment is very well thought-out. How about Roman and Byzantine (Costantinople) cities, where bread was distributed for free each day to every one in the city? And both Rome and Byzantium suffered large population declines during some of their history. Other counter-examples include medieval Europe, where average life expectancy was 60+ and they worked less hours than present-day Americans.

michaelochurch 15y ago
Sure, and today middle-class Americans don't have to worry about food on a daily basis, but worldwide conditions have been dismal for most, if not all, of humanity's history, and are just now getting better. For example, these rich cities frequently had to defend themselves against the poor and hungry. Being sacked was a common occurrence. It's a recent convenience (over the past few hundred years) that cities aren't surrounded by walls.
theprodigy 15y ago
You can thank slave labor for the good life during these times. I am not talking about sweat shops, I'm talking about real slavery. It wasn't uncommon for the military to enslave people and take their land. If you had a problem making bread for 15 hrs a day or having the empire use your land to grow wheat without paying you, then you can just be killed. Most of the time it was done publicly. Production of products back then wasn't too advanced. Many of the slaves had the experience and skills to contribute to a specific value chain of these empires. Using bread as an example, in their culture the slaves had experience baking and farming. The only difference is they aregoing to do it for free and the stuff they produce will go to their rulers. Any problems with that, you can get murdered.
sien 15y ago
Average life Expectancy in Medieval Europe was about 30. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy#Life_expectancy_variation_over_time http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy#Life_expectancy...

michaelochurch 15y ago

Sure, and today middle-class Americans don't have to worry about food on a daily basis, but worldwide conditions have been dismal for most, if not all, of humanity's history, and are just now getting better. For example, these rich cities frequently had to defend themselves against the poor and hungry. Being sacked was a common occurrence. It's a recent convenience (over the past few hundred years) that cities aren't surrounded by walls.

theprodigy 15y ago

You can thank slave labor for the good life during these times. I am not talking about sweat shops, I'm talking about real slavery. It wasn't uncommon for the military to enslave people and take their land. If you had a problem making bread for 15 hrs a day or having the empire use your land to grow wheat without paying you, then you can just be killed. Most of the time it was done publicly. Production of products back then wasn't too advanced. Many of the slaves had the experience and skills to contribute to a specific value chain of these empires. Using bread as an example, in their culture the slaves had experience baking and farming. The only difference is they aregoing to do it for free and the stuff they produce will go to their rulers. Any problems with that, you can get murdered.

sien 15y ago

Average life Expectancy in Medieval Europe was about 30. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy#Life_expectancy_variation_over_time http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_expectancy#Life_expectancy...