Re:Lessons from Cellphones on Distribution of Wealth
by merpnderp on Wednesday December 02, 2015 @08:46PM
(#10667208)
Could he fly to another part of the country? Could he easily and cheaply avoid water/waste borne disease, eat fruit in winter, or call someone from his phone while on the road? He would have paid large portions of his wealth to do any of these things. So yes, nearly everyone is richer than good ol Henry.
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Re:Lessons from Cellphones on Distribution of Wealth
by JustSomeNobody on Wednesday December 02, 2015 @09:11PM
(#10667283)
I am pretty sure the comment you are replying to addressed all of that.
"... I have access to much greater technology ..."
Re:Lessons from Cellphones on Distribution of Wealth
by merpnderp on Thursday December 03, 2015 @12:56PM
(#10671198)
Wish HN had a an notification option for responses. But I thought I made clear that with all Henry's wealth and a strong desire to purchase the results of modern technology, he couldn't get them. So he could command the labor of many times as many people as a modern poor person, but he couldn't use that labor to accomplish nearly as much as many poor people can today. Is he wealthier? I guess it depends on what you value more. Being able to have someone bring you dirty water from a well on command, or having to get your own purified clean water from the tap in your house.
Re:Lessons from Cellphones on Distribution of Wealth
by gnaritas on Friday December 04, 2015 @10:49AM
(#10676936)
Wealth is power and freedom, not access to stuff; I have to work for a living, Henry the VIII was a king with the power of life and death over others, he was wealthier by any reasonable measure. My access to greater tech doesn't make me wealthier.