A statistician shows how good we have it in the US of A and the west and how quickly the rest of the world is catching up in our brave new globalized world:
It is pretty crazy to think that two hundred years ago, a guy like me would probably have been a common illiterate laborer with an expected lifespan of about 40 years. Indeed, that was what my great great grandfather was when he landed at Ellis Island in 1897. In 2010 though, I enjoy a thoroughly middle class life, I own my own property, have my own personal transportation, can post whatever I want on my blog, and can expect to live 70+ years as long as I don’t hit the Scotch too hard.
What explains the change in the last two hundred years? Obviously the Industrial Revolution created new wealth; you can see incomes rise spectacularly in the 19th Century. But life expectancy didn’t really increase until the 20th Century. So we have two causes: capitalism (a rising tide raises all ships) and (in my opinion) the rise of progressive social policy in education and healthcare that’s allowed a guy like me to make something of a success of himself.
What the presenter doesn’t say, however, is that if everyone in the world consumed like Americans do, we’d need the resources of five more Earths according to research.
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