And the intellectuals that are sitting at desks created automation, assembly fixtures, smelting equipment, welding equipment, etc. These devices made the physical labor more productive, therefore increasing its value. Compare the difference between how much steel a blacksmith could produce vs. the amount of steel that can be produced by todays smelting operations.
Yes, they carried a load. I would contend that the load is heavier today. The tax rate is one of the major reasons that 2 incomes are the norm. Now families spend their "free" time doing the domestic work that used to be done by the homemaker. Each member of the family is doing at least the work of 2.
Technology, created by desk sitters (intellectuals), has allowed this to occur. The government punishes us for the advancements.
For all the good *Technology* has done, it also has done some bad... Do you think the foods we now injest Mass produced, hormone injected and all, are better than the foods of my parents that could afford to buy organic vegetables, hormone free meats, grain fed chickens?
Houses are built with sub-standard materials now a days.
Electronics, Phones, TV's, household appliances are made to last no more than 5 years if that...
What was produced by a man's hands is now produced by technology, so are we truly better off?
Yup. My "free" time is Sunday afternoon. I get to spend 2 1/2 hours mowing the lawn at my residence, then I pack up the mower and take it to my rental property and spend another 2 hours mowing that one. When that is complete, it is time to wash clothes, do the weekly grocery shopping and any other domestic tasks. My wife and I get this stuff done as quickly as possible so we have a little time together. On average we get to eat TWO meals togethers each week when I'm not out of town.