New at Reason

Tim Cavanaugh | March 9, 2005

In an intriguing new consideration of income and living standards, Ron Bailey discovers that even when everything isn't rising, it must converge.

Comments

|3.9.05 @ 9:50PM|#

Ahh... good ole Onslo

|3.9.05 @ 11:00PM|#

Nice reference to "Everything That Rises Must Converge" by Flannery O'Connor.... ah, good old high school English.

|3.10.05 @ 2:45AM|#

I thought it was a Shriekback reference.

Eventual headline: Platonic ideal achieved. Panel blames administration lack of further improvement.

|3.10.05 @ 3:21AM|#

Points worth repeating. I'm reminded of a book from the 70s(!)- "Two Cheers For the Affluent Society", by Beckerman.

It's time for the most vocal advocates for the third world to put up or shut up. The evidence is in- capitalism, free trade, and modern (as opposed to "appropriate") technology seem to be hold out the only hope for raising the third world out of misery.

Those advcates are wrong, and have been for a long time. If their concern is, in fact, the welfare of that bulk of the race that lives in misery, they will admit it. If their concern is a narcissistic self-aggrandizement, they won't. That is how I measure the sincerity of the champions of the world's poor.

|3.10.05 @ 3:57AM|#

I have a problem with any analysis that places beer in a "non-necessary consumption" category. Has no one ever heard the phrase, "Beer is food"?

Kevin

R C Dean|3.10.05 @ 9:29AM|#

Eventual headline: Platonic ideal achieved. Women, minorities hardest hit.

Warren|3.10.05 @ 9:45AM|#

Outstanding piece Ron.
And about time somebody paid homage to the comedy genius of Judy Cornwell.

|3.10.05 @ 12:46PM|#

Well, RC, in order to achieve the Platonic ideal a lot of people would have to experience a severe adjustment, and not all of them would cope well with it. And since 50% of the world's population is female, and a lot of people in the other 50% are non-white, it stands to reason that women and minorities would bear most of the brunt of these adjustments.

God, what are you, lacking compassion or something? ;)