Just because the standard of living has improved in the last 200 years, this doesn't mean that my statement is wrong.
Yes it does. The rich get richer and the poor also get richer. On average.
You have to include the changing definition of 'rich' and 'poor'.
No. I don’t have to. That’s cheating. What you are doing is to change a concept to fit in your previous preconception.
Those who are considered poor today, will be considered 'more poor' in 30 years. Even if 'more poor' in 30 years means that they will live better than today.
You will consider them poorer. I won’t.
'Rich' and 'poor' are 2 relative terms. They are not absolute.
Of course. So, what?
The gap between rich and poor is widening. That's a fact.
Yes, it is widening but the poor also get richer. So, the rich get richer and the poor also get richer. Your statement is wrong.
And just because the poorest person in your country still can afford to eat 2 or 3 times a day, it doesn't mean that he is way richer than people were 200 years ago...
No. It’s not that they can eat 2 or 3 times a day. They eat like 5 or 6 times a day and they are actually fatter than the rich on average. It doesn’t mean necessarily that they are way richer than people were 200 years ago, like a logic conclusion that can be gathered apart from the facts. But the fact is that they are waaaay richer than 200 years ago.
Think about the vast majority of people in Ireland 200 years ago who were starving to death and had to migrate to the U.S. Now think of those you call poor in Ireland now. They are fat. They have more clothes, they have travelled more, they have a mobile, TV, a car (even if it is a 20 year-old one) and so on.
That's black and white thinking. But you can't split everything into either being black or white.
No. It’s not. Black and white thinking is to say that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. That’s black and white thinking. And it’s even worse because you change the definition to fit in your previous preconception, instead of having a concept and compare it to reality to see if it matches or not.
Wealth is usually defined as an aggregate of good and services and it is a fact that those you call poor getting poorer have more goods and access to more services, way more, than those who were poor 100, 200 and 500 years ago.
Real wages have been falling for a while but also its true society overall is richer with lower costs for items. We have the full benefits of technology available to most people in society and that makes them far richer then the lowest paid of a hundred years ago.
I totally agree.