>> The rich had the best. The poor barely survived.
That is the history of humankind in a nutshell. Only the prosperity created by a free America with a Protestant work ethic has allowed the two worlds to even come close to being similar. And as we discard the Protestant work ethic in favor of the Third World kleptocracy, the two will diverge once again.
You’re absolutely right.
http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/protestantethic/summary/
Max Weber
The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism