[apsec112]

1) "Peasant" does not just mean "every lower class person", it means "subsistence farmer". We don't have subsistence farmers in the US anymore.

2) What's your evidence? Look at any photo of a city street from pre-1930 or so. Almost every business you see will be owned by some individual or family.

3) "Human and social capital" doesn't mean "rich", it means "human and social capital". I know several people with huge amounts of human and social capital who were homeless. Some of them then got rich, which they could do because they had human and social capital.

4) We know that most people saved during the 19th century, despite being far poorer than anyone today. It's a basic historical fact - farmers need to save at least some of income (whether in the form of money, food, or other goods). How do you make it through the winter otherwise? Harvests only come once or twice a year.

Wealth is not a zero-sum game, as anyone who knows basic economics can tell you. See http://paulgraham.com/wealth.html