Shulou(Shulou.com)11/24 Report--

On December 28, billionaire investor Charlie Munger (Charlie Munger) recently advised people at a corporate annual meeting: "stop complaining. In fact, everyone is five times better off than they used to be."

Munger, a long-time investment partner and friend of billionaire Warren Buffett (Warren Buffett), believes everyone should be happier. Munger says he doesn't understand why people are much better off today than they were in the more difficult times in history, and why they are not satisfied with what they have.

"people are not as satisfied with the status quo as it was when the situation was grim," Mr Munger said earlier this year at the annual meeting of Daily Journal, where he served as a director.

Munger says he came of age in the 1930s, when people across the United States were struggling: "for people my age, it was in the middle of the Great Depression, and it was incredibly difficult."

Munger complained at the annual meeting that jealousy is the root cause of too many people's actions today. For thousands of years before the early 19th century, "human life is very cruel, short and limited." there is no printing press, no air conditioning, no modern medicine. "

Munger may be right to think that jealousy is widespread in the world today. Recent research also shows that in any given year, about 75% of people are jealous of others.

Social media such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter are particularly prone to jealousy, and these sites tend to connect ordinary people with people who only show the positive side of their lives.

Munger also mentioned research by Harvard psychologist Steven Pink (Steven Pinker) at the annual meeting. Pinker has cited evidence such as an increase in human life expectancy and a decline in global absolute poverty that the quality of life around the world has improved significantly over the past century or two.

Pink's critics argue that his views are too simplistic and ignore the negative aspects of modern life, such as the widening wealth gap, which can still cause real pain.

In 2019, Munger played down the negative effects of wealth and income inequality, claiming that "politicians who scream about it are idiots".

Some US politicians, such as Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, have insisted on calling for higher taxes on the super-rich in recent years. Munger's $2.2 billion net worth could be affected by the tax increase.

Mr Munger has questioned tax increases for the rich in the past, even arguing last year that some degree of inequality was necessary. At the recent annual meeting, Munger added that most people's concerns about wealth inequality and criticism of the super-rich are out of jealousy.

"after everything has gone up fivefold, a lot of people are still very unhappy and feel abused because, after all, some people have more," Munger said. I can't change that. "

Welcome to subscribe "Shulou Technology Information " to get latest news, interesting things and hot topics in the IT industry, and controls the hottest and latest Internet news, technology news and IT industry trends.