The right question for measuring material progress:
What is the minimum amount of money that you would demand in exchange for your going back to live even as John D. Rockefeller lived in 1916?
and
a blogpost by HumanProgress it inspired:
you would not be able to enjoy any of the following:
Radio (do you mind phonograph sound quality?)
Television
Timely transportationComputers
Air-conditioningRock ’n roll
International food (forget Vietnamese Pho or falafels!)
Smart phones
A high likelihood of surviving infancyContact lenses
Modern birth control
Antibiotics
Accurate watches
Skype
Effective dental care
The Internet
