A theory of relativity

I posted the following comment on Tom Harris's excellent blog in response to the flack he's receiving for asking why we are so bloody miserable when most of us have never had it so good.

No doubt in fifty years time when our standard of living will have trebled there will be an economic setback due to our insatiable appetites outrunning the resources available.

People will then be complaining about not being able to afford things like cordon-bleu meals every day, the latest hologramic TV, household robots to do all their work for them and flying cars to get them to where they want to go - all considered to be essential for a contented life.

And of course there will be those oh-so-caring opposition politicians and commentators arguing that they have every right to be upset about having to suffer such terrible deprivation.