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Because the rich are no more evil than the rest of us and, all things being equal, would rather their fellow man be as happy, healthy and fulfilled as they are?
by zarkov99 7y ago
Because the rich are no more evil than the rest of us and, all things being equal, would rather their fellow man be as happy, healthy and fulfilled as they are?
- evgen 7y agoThis is why I keep coming back to HN, for the laughs...
- barbecue_sauce 7y agoSource?
- coldtea 7y agoI, along with millennia of common wisdom, doubt that the rich are "no more evil" than the rest of us.
- tziki 7y agoA good portion of HN readers are rich. If you take the perspective of an average 3rd world laborer, vast majority of HN readers are rich, likely including you. Maybe we're more evil than average, but I have to admit, I haven't noticed.
- Emma_Goldman 7y agoHumans are communal creatures who have particularist ties to people in their own society. If we want to speak about the intentional beliefs of the rich, I think we need to take an intra-societal view rather than a cosmopolitan one. Five reasons why the rich tend to be worse people: 1) Humans only need some modest necessities to live and a stable income to be secure, and beyond this, our desires are largely manufactured and driven by status 2) Unlike in the past, today, the higher our income the longer hours we are likely to work 3) There are many people who are poor and destitute and need money orders of magnitude more than the rich 4) People have a tendency to search for legitimations for their actions, and so the rich try and justify their wealth as a result of merit, natural inequality, work ethic, etc. The rich are disproportionately driven by status, spend less time with their friends and family - and indeed their lives are absorbed in instrumental gain - hoard wealth at the grave expense of others, and are given to excessive pride and covetousness.
- SturgeonsLaw 7y agoYou might be right, in the sense that all humans possess the capability to be greedy and inflict harm on others for their own gain - it's just the rich who are in more of a position to execute on those desires.