Generally it’s far harder to reduce inequality in times of stagnation than in times of growth. (View Post)

Yes, Mrs. Bennett and her daughters face a lifetime of living off Mr. Collins’ condescending charity. The army and navy provided opportunities for young men, in the Bennett’s’ position. For such youn… (View Post)

It’s a difficult argument to make. Yet despite what Oxfam would have us believe, rates of absolute poverty have plummeted worldwide, over my lifetime, thanks to current trading arrangements. When I w… (View Post)

Many people believe that the pre-industrial world was The Shire, rather than a place of backbreaking labour, terrible housing, and a tiny elite living it up, at their expense. (View Post)

Which would certainly have been a feature of the world pre-1800. Elites did see themselves as having more in common with each other than with their own peasants. It’s how multi-national Realms and em… (View Post)