1979

“Except that the rich are quite literally rich because everyone else is poor. 

Wealth does not exist independent of poverty. Wealth is a social claim meant to gatekeep access to resources to survive.

‘A poor person in America with a phone and a fridge is richer than any medieval king!’

Except the king didn’t worry about where his next meal would come from, or whether he could heat his hall, or whether he’d be fired from his job because his car wouldn’t start.

The king didn’t worry about those things because his wealth translated into command over other people who would labor for him or give him things he wanted. 

Wealth isn’t “stuff,” it’s a social relationship of command.

Poverty is the flip side: a social relationship of precariousness that drives subordination. 

Poverty has real measurable effects on health and lifespan that can’t be explained by a lack of as much “stuff” as the rich, but can be explained by a response to chronic stress.