I dunno about that, man, you could get a lot of food and shelter as a lord or king 500 years ago.
I guess lords and kings didn't have anything as entertaining as a $30 smartphone from Wal-Mart though. Lords could get killed by any of a variety of Malaria-like diseases back in the day, too, so maybe they weren't that much better off than a sub-Saharan African today..
Oh come on. Surely you can think of a few things other than iPhones and malaria medicine we have, that were completely unavailable to kings and queens of old. (Although “smart phones” admittedly encompasses a LOT of things.) How about air conditioning and central heating? Modern dentistry and medicine of all sorts? Refrigeration? Air travel? The light bulb? A much better than king-sized variety of entertainment options on demand? Indoor plumbing, for God’s sake?
Other than the entertainment one, substantially less than 90% of people have access to those. Even for the entertainment part, lords and kings had plenty of options (like not woeking 12 to 16 hour days).
But moreover they (and many lower stations) had security, free time, and a lack of precarity that is unavailable to roughly 90% of the population today. This is worth far more than better circuises and ranks about as highly as things like medicine and refrigeration.
I have all sorts of great stuff, although to be fair, like many of the other commenters here I'm in the top income percentile of the most powerful country on the planet today
What about the people living horrible lives out in rural India or Africa, though? I think they fall under the 90% of people that the comment above was talking about
The Lords and Kings had plenty of entertainment. Entertainment did not begin with the invention of smartphones.
In fact I would say their entertainment was far better and more wholesome than what we have today. Imagine going on hunts in lush untouched wilderness, or watching men fight to the death in an arena, or slithering off to your harem of beautiful women and having your way with whichever ones you fancy that day.
Indeed, I would say the best lifestyle would be a combination of this and our advanced medical techniques that allow us to live longer and more comfortable lives.
I guess lords and kings didn't have anything as entertaining as a $30 smartphone from Wal-Mart though. Lords could get killed by any of a variety of Malaria-like diseases back in the day, too, so maybe they weren't that much better off than a sub-Saharan African today..