I like looking at historical houses. My friend and I went to one today, a plantation owner's house that was built in 1812. Like most houses owned by the wealthy of that time period, it is much like a modern middle-class house. Everything: the size, the furnishings, the decor, all are about what you would expect a middle-class family to have. Obviously things look different, and there is a different style and culture to it, but I am talking functionality when I make this comparison.
I have commented on this before. But here is a number to put this technological progress into perspective. The man who owned that house owned assets worth $52 million in today's dollars.
52 million dollars, and his possessions were comparable to that of a middle-class household today. Of course, he had lots of servants to order around, but we have an array of technological 'servants' that are just as good, maybe even better.
No comments:
Post a Comment