In 1800, 80% of people lived at their absolute subsistence level of poverty. Today less than 10% do and it is continuing to drop. There is a huge increase in wealth for everyone relative to their standard of living, compared to earlier generations.
These changes are not just a matter of having more stuff and greater comfort. Because of economic growth, there have been radical social changes. We live and interact with each other in ways that either were rare before or are truly novel. One example is the role of the household. For most of human history, it was almost impossible to live on one’s own for any sustained length of time, even for the wealthy. Nowadays, people can do this easily, and many do.
Ordinary people today have far more effective choice and a vastly wider range of options than even their recent ancestors. Instead of looking forward to a life as a farmer in the great majority of cases, they have a dazzling array of possibilities, even if they are relatively poor. Many kinds of experiences are available that even kings could only imagine before.
Much of the dark unpleasant side of life has been dramatically reduced. For example, the chances of losing a sibling or a parent to an accident or illness before the age of 20 has sharply declined. Human beings are now much less violent and much milder and gentler in their behavior than was the case even two centuries ago.
Your home, living conditions, family, job, leisure; today, reflect on how your life is much different than if you had lived 200 years ago.
The world needs more of this real info to counter the negative news that is always dramatizing the world for ratings