Wealth is Relative

[LinusKS]

Wealth, like other descriptors, is a purely relative measure.

It shares this quality with adjectives like "big," "tall," and "bright," among others.

Nothing, for example, is "big" in and of itself. It's only big in reference to something else. If the universe contained only one object, for example, it's not a big or small, regardless of its size.

If I'm six foot tall, and the average is 5'10", I'm tall. If everyone else starts taking growth hormones, though, and the average becomes 6'4", I become short.

I become short, despite the fact my height has not changed. If there's some social advantage to being tall, I lose that advantage, not because of anything I've done, but because the height of other people has changed.

I realize I'm belaboring the obvious, but for whatever reason, some people fail to realize the same condition applies to wealth.

If I'm "rich" or "poor," it's not because of what I have, it's because of what other people have. My being rich depends on others being poor, just as poverty depends on others being rich.