Presence of material comforts doesn't make one happy, but their absence sucks. It's a different kind of suck, a more immediate physical one, than the social and

Presence of material comforts doesn't make one happy, but their absence sucks. It's a different kind of suck, a more immediate physical one, than the social and metaphysical angst experienced by wealthy bored people. You don't have time or energy to contemplate your existence enough to suffer from metaphysical or social issues like this. The number of downvotes I got for the top message shows how pervasive the romanticization of the past is in the developed world. Romanticizing scarcity and poverty is only possible among people who have never experienced it before.