We <i>don't</i> take for granted drinkable water and not freezing in our homes.<p>For a growing number people in first world countries now watching their public utilities fail them, either through neglect or deliberate acts of dismantlement, we really do understand how quickly it can all be taken away.
The bar on lifestyles has been raised all across the board. We live like 18th and 19th century royalty. Royalty today, which is anyone with money, have a lifestyle far beyond anyone in that time could have imagined.<p>The ability to fly anywhere in the world to buy a pair of shoes and be home for dinner, or summon a fleet of contractors and machines and build a new palace in a matter of months - Thomas Jefferson would have considered these god-like powers. But they're available to anyone with a net worth north of $100m - which is literally tens of thousands of people.<p>Moreover, 18th and 19th century royalty could afford to hire an army of servants to see to their every need. Most people today are lucky to be able to afford a house cleaner once a week. Forget about a cook or a driver.
I just want to point out that we shouldn’t stop imagining and pushing for better either. That’s why we’ve gotten the luxury we have today, dissatisfied people who wanted something else. The author is absolutely right though that doing this well necessitates learning more about current systems.
There was an article a long time ago about cheeseburgers and how impossible the logistics of cheeseburgers were back in the day. A tomato in winter? Nope. Ground beef? A sesame seed bun? Cheese?<p>Just think: there's a literal river of bananas coming from Ecuador etc that ends in every grocery store in the US. It's amazing.