Megan McAardle notes that are current living standard for the poor is better than than the pharaoh of Egypt.

Scientists now think that King Tut may have died of malaria. As the fellow who sent me the link dryly noted, King Tut did not have good comprehensive health insurance.

All kidding aside, this is a good excuse to meditate on just how rich we are. King Tut was probably the wealthiest man in the world during his time. He died of something that wouldn’t kill the most abjectly immiserated welfare mother in the United States today, because of a combination of public health efforts, and cheap antimalarial drugs.

I think many on the left are to quick to judge our economic system by poor without giving consideration to poor in most other countries and during most any other time in history.

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