biffvernon wrote:How it's paid for is another matter, the point is we now have more stuff than ever, and in so far as stuff = affluence, we are more affluent.
And I'm not sure about the increasing inferior quality. Every computer, car, hi-fi, TV, fridge, cooker etc has been better than the one it replaced.
The only things that used to be made better were things that involved a lot of skilled labour, such as hand-crafted furniture.
We tend to live in bigger houses with plumbing and electricity, we take holidays and listen to string quartets.
A lot of stuff does actually last a long time so affluence accumulates. I have 200 more cds than I had 10 years ago. So I'm more affluent.
The more you think about the more obvious it is that we've never had it so good.
