I think you made the point in basic economics that we always want more than we have. Our desires are always greater than what we can afford. So by our human nature, we tend to struggle to get by. We could work about two thirds as hard as we work now and live as well as we did 50 years ago. But people evidently don't want to live that well. They want to live a lot better.
Thomas Sowell of Stanford University's Hoover Institution talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about the ideas in his new book, Economic Facts and Fallacies. He discusses the misleading nature of measured income inequality, CEO pay, why nations grow or stay poor, the role of intellectuals and experts in designing public policy, and immigration.