Today I walked past a well-groomed old man driving an awesome Jaguar convertible. Jaguars are my favorite sports car, and I felt a twinge of envy.
Later at a fast food restaurant, an energetic teenager before me in line was counting out his coins, unsure if he had enough to pay for a cold drink. I felt stabs of nostalgia and envy.
I’m now a man of middle years and middle income, and my reactions led me to a thought experiment:
All other things equal, would you rather be a rich old man or a poor young man?
(Am I right in thinking the answer is obvious?)
This reminds me of the aired plot-theme of the oyster king in Ayn Rand’s The Simplest Thing in the World. He envied his young employee, because he still had his struggle ahead of him. However, the poor young man valued relationships over work, and the rich old man was worried about his future. There’s a story there!