That’s a good point, but not very useful for GWWC. What was your consumption last year? It would take people a while to figure it out, but almost everyone knows their income off the top of their heads. GWWC’s goal is to make a salient point that westerners are rich. An American making $30,000 a year doesn’t feel rich, but they actually are rich, rich enough to improve many lives of the global poor without a serious deduction in their standard of living. Income and consumption (relative to other humans) rarely differ from each other enough to change that conclusion.
That’s a good point, but not very useful for GWWC. What was your consumption last year? It would take people a while to figure it out, but almost everyone knows their income off the top of their heads. GWWC’s goal is to make a salient point that westerners are rich. An American making $30,000 a year doesn’t feel rich, but they actually are rich, rich enough to improve many lives of the global poor without a serious deduction in their standard of living. Income and consumption (relative to other humans) rarely differ from each other enough to change that conclusion.
Correct.
Notice the goal: to make a point. Notice what it is not: to gain understanding by exploring the complexities of “wealth”.