[TopQuark]

I thought that the original remark was about income, not wealth.

[Jason_b]

I [the author] would like to give you a grand distillation of world and economic history from the dawn of man till today, because that is what is really required to understand what is going on, but I don?t have the time to do that. Instead I?d like to refer you to a chapter called Legally Pigilly from the book Critical Path by R. Buckminster Fuller for that. Fuller was one of the world?s top architects, scientists, and philosophers of the 20th century. In this chapter he lays out a speculative account of the evolution of man?s political and economic systems from it?s origins to the 1980?s. It is excellent reading which even today remains more right than wrong. Click here to check it out:

linked from here.

Long but somewhat thought provoking.

[gcruse]

I thought that the original remark was about income, not wealth.

Well, alright.  But it was still typical
loudmouthed American braggadocio.
See below.

                        For example, the
United States has the second highest per capita income, with
                        $29,600, and it ranks 20th in terms of poverty. Luxembourg
                        has the highest income per capita in the world, with $33,500