Matthew Schoenfeld: Air Jordan and the 1% - WSJ.com

Link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303649504577492300632472284.html?mod=djemITP_h (via shareaholic.com)

First, some historical perspective.
"From the time of Pericles until the end of the 18th century in London—2,300 years," notes Harvard Prof. Lawrence Summers, "standards of living on Earth increased perhaps 100%." In the U.S. since 1790, by contrast, real per capita gross domestic product has increased nearly 4,000%. Quality of life, in other words, increased 40 times more in 220 years of American history than it had globally over two millennia. In 2012, a typical American in the bottom fifth of the income distribution has a far higher quality of life—and life expectancy—than the average member of the top 1% in 1790.