A scenario that I posed to my classes: As agrarian areas developed into city-states a single ruler might control a large region of towns and cities and in the process becoming wealthy.
In the 21st century, extravagant displays of wealth remain a means to show great affluence. Is it possible that this will be frowned upon and change in the near future. If so, why?
We had a few interesting ideas on our end. Any thoughts from the community at large?