4 ms·

I think the upperclass mostly "controls" lawmaking decisions for their own interest, and are almost entirely unaware of the condition/state of mind/customs of t

by creep 9y ago

I think the upperclass mostly "controls" lawmaking decisions for their own interest, and are almost entirely unaware of the condition/state of mind/customs of the lower classes. They don't understand how it works, and because they don't understand they feel superior, so they make decisions on behalf of the lower classes with the intent of nobly showing the masses the way while serving their own interests. There's also a lot of superior moralizing etc.

Declanomous 9y ago
There's an interesting theory, which I can't recall the name of, that says that poor people understand the rich because they can empathize with them, but it takes too much energy for the rich to empathize with the poor because there are so many of them and their burden is overwhelming. So the rich don't understand the poor but the poor understand the rich, which explains why we have the laws we have.
- creep 9y ago
  It would be interesting if you could explain this a little better, or find the source. Sounds a little vague but I'd like to know more.
  - Declanomous 9y ago
    http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797610387613 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797610387613 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-wealth-reduces-compassion/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-wealth-reduce... I'm not a sociologist, so I won't try to explain it, but that should give you a start. I can't find the article that used my exact explanation, but the rich are consistently shown to be worse at empathizing with others
- racer-v 9y ago
  It seems more likely that the lower classes can easily empathize with the rich because they want to be the rich, while the converse is not normally true.
cft 9y ago
My friend (middle class) dated a daughter of Staples founder. This was his takeaway too: while her father sort of understood ordinary people, the daughter already did not.

by creep 9y ago

Declanomous 9y ago

There's an interesting theory, which I can't recall the name of, that says that poor people understand the rich because they can empathize with them, but it takes too much energy for the rich to empathize with the poor because there are so many of them and their burden is overwhelming. So the rich don't understand the poor but the poor understand the rich, which explains why we have the laws we have.

creep 9y ago
It would be interesting if you could explain this a little better, or find the source. Sounds a little vague but I'd like to know more.
- Declanomous 9y ago
  http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797610387613 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797610387613 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-wealth-reduces-compassion/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-wealth-reduce... I'm not a sociologist, so I won't try to explain it, but that should give you a start. I can't find the article that used my exact explanation, but the rich are consistently shown to be worse at empathizing with others
racer-v 9y ago
It seems more likely that the lower classes can easily empathize with the rich because they want to be the rich, while the converse is not normally true.

cft 9y ago

My friend (middle class) dated a daughter of Staples founder. This was his takeaway too: while her father sort of understood ordinary people, the daughter already did not.