I was on a whistle-stop tour of five Dutch cities last week when I found myself thinking: this is peak humanity. No people anywhere have ever lived better. Most town centres were gorgeous, having avoided any destruction for centuries. Cyclists puttered past café terraces. The only hassle was torn-up streets, as perfectly good infrastructure was being renovated. The knee-jerk retort would be that I was watching out-of-touch elitists party while ordinary people sink. In fact, the historically egalitarian Netherlands has become still more equal in income distribution since the 1990s. Nor is the typical Dutch person uniquely blessed. Even in the extremely unequal US, median household income is a respectable $59,039.
前不久，我简短地游览了荷兰的五个城市，其间我不由得这样想：我眼前的景象是人类发展的巅峰。世界任何地方的人都未曾有过更美好的生活。大部分城镇中心都引人入胜，这些地方几百年来未遭破坏。悠闲的人们骑着自行车经过露天咖啡座。唯一的麻烦就是路面被挖开，因为市政当局要改造本来没什么问题的基础设施。对此，有人会下意识地反驳称，我看到的是不接地气的精英阶层在享受，其实普通人的生活每况愈下。事实上，自20世纪90年代以来，历来注重平等的荷兰在收入分配上变得更加均等。而典型的荷兰人并没有受到特别的眷顾。即使在极不平等的美国，家庭收入的中值也有相当不错的59039美元。