Was Western Europe Historically More “Prosperous” Than Eastern Europe?
I know this is a popular talking point that commentators reflexively agree with, but is it actually true? The most famous French novel, Les Miserables, is about a guy who goes to prison for stealing bread. In the most famous Charles Dickens story, A Christmas Carol, the main character literally thinks if people don’t want to starve to death they should just wOrK hArDeR (libertarian moment). The moral of that story is rich people will only pay their employees properly if they’re threatened with burning in hell forever. And remember, Dickens was writing when Britain had the largest empire to ever exist.