“Why do you think the nobility of old had such complex rules of etiquette and what we now would call “frivolous” recreation?”
The nobility of old might have frivolous recreation, but the lower classes of the olde were living in filth and dying of plague on a daily basis. To them, simple act of washing hands was considered “frivolous”.
This demonization of wealthy lead to Marxism in the late 19th century. This continues to this day even among “conservatives”. Why can’t you be content with attacking the parasitic takers, not those whose investment RUN everything.
It wasn’t, you implied such.
A rich man is the same as a poor man essentially. The difference is the amount of resources they have at their disposal.
Poor people struggle to survive, and as a result are preoccupied to an extent that limits their ability to engage in vice. Rich people have resources and do not need to engage in this, leading to idleness without something to keep vice in check.
That is not Marxism by any stretch.