"Throughout history, poverty is the normal condition of man. Advances which permit this norm to be exceeded -- here and there, now and then -- are the work of an extremely small minority, frequently despised, often condemned, and almost always opposed by all right-thinking people. Whenever this tiny minority is kept from creating, or (as sometimes happens) is driven out of a society, the people then slip back into abject poverty.
This is known as 'bad luck.'"
Robert Heinlein
1
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I don't see how poverty is the normal condition of man. I guess it depends on how you define wealth and poverty. In terms of happiness? Physical goods? Money in the bank? I think most of human history we cooperated on a high level to ensure everyone, even the aged and disabled, had food and shelter. Look at the neanderthals and early modern human.
Mishalove2018
Level 4
May 9, 2018
0
lots of cooperation and lots of suffering, for most of everybody, for most of forever.
The point of Heinlein's quote is, that too often the oligarchs attack those who are exploring reality and hence all of the members of a society suffer. This is one of the evil's of the spread of all religions. Especially now,with islam.
And the loonies like Hair Trumpf, pence, Putin,... They think they are gods and hence do damage unneeded.
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