Perspective on Progress, Part 3

One factor that clearly impacts our quality of life is the cost of living, and especially the cost of the basics for living. If we must labor constantly just to put food in our mouths, with no opportunity for reflection, connection or recreation, then life can literally be a chore.

With that in mind, how much must we work to feed ourselves today versus in the past? Fortunately, much less. As Harvard Professor Steven Pinker explains in his book “Enlightenment Now”:

In the United States in 1901, an hour’s wages could buy around three quarts of milk; a century later, the same wages would buy sixteen quarts. The amount of every other foodstuff that can be bought with an hour of labor has multiplied as well: from a pound of butter to five pounds, a dozen eggs to twelve dozen, two pounds of pork chops to five pounds, and nine pounds of flour to forty-nine pounds.

So, not only have we managed to feed an increasing population increasingly well, but we’ve managed to do so while expending far, far less labor. That’s truly remarkable.

This massive decrease in the cost of living is disguised by the fact that we price goods in constantly inflating dollars. So, in dollar terms, things appear to constantly get more expense. But when we consider how much LABOR is required to acquire a given thing, prices have plummeted, and this is especially true for the basic necessities of life (food, shelter and clothing).