Pretty sure the kings of old would have been dumbstruck at what we consider "hunger" when they see how obese our poor typically are.

Edit: I don't want to make this sound like I don't care about hunger, clearly kids should not have to go hungry in our present day society. Its on us to provide the poor with avenues and incentives to work and earn living wages. Adults who refuse to work help themselves, well hunger can be a needed incentive.

I don't see how that's a relevant argument. People who are hungry and people who are obese both lack mean to attain proper nutrition. Stress, obesity and debt is the new hurt, hungry and poor. unfounded opinions are the new not knowing something. Everything is different, yet the same. Downvoting is just regular stupid, if you can't make an argument for your opinions but instead try an hide others arguments you're just plain old stupid.

Obviously there are going to be pros and cons. Sure, a percentage of the poor today are sometimes hungry. But very few are starving.

Maybe I'm alone, but I would rather be a poor person in 2017 than a rich person in the 1400s. The internet itself is enough of a benefit for me.

> I would rather be a poor person in 2017 than a rich person in the 1400s.

For myself - that would a be a tough choice.

There were still things that wealthy people back then (especially the ruling class) could command that ordinary people - even wealthy ones - of today can't touch.

The amount of land and property owned, and in the case of the ruling class the ability to raise and have "armies", as well as how laws and such applied...all skew toward them.

Granted, there are many, many things of today that people of the 1400s could only dream about, if even that. Our technology, our medicine, our easy access to food...all of that and more would have been impossible for even the ruling class of the 1400s to access.

But again - there were things they could access that only governments of today, or the extremely wealthy (billionaires - but even there are limits) can access today. Not only what I've mentioned, but also political and other circles (people, money, laws, etc) - that the ordinary person of today have no access to - they didn't then, nor now.