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This is something that is valid more for societies like US, where being rich is seen as proof of 'hard work' and 'making it'. It defines your social status and
by unity1001 4y ago
This is something that is valid more for societies like US, where being rich is seen as proof of 'hard work' and 'making it'. It defines your social status and actual social worth, therefore not being rich is like a stain.
Its even built-into the terms used for describing it - someone's 'net worth'. As if a human being can be qualified by the amount of imaginary numbers attached to his or her social identity.
So becoming rich from poor gives a proof of 'making it' and therefore being a 'valued member' of the society who does not 'laze around' but 'works hard'.
Its early Puritan Christian belief repurposed as a social norm, really.
- sanderjd 4y agoI live in the US, and as I said, this is not my experience at all.
- unity1001 4y agoIndividuals' personal experiences being to the contrary does not mean that something is not a societal paradigm. From the cover of Forbes to the arguments used in discussions during lawmaking, the situation is as my comment described.
- sanderjd 4y agoYour comments are also just anecdotes, except that they are second-order, based on your anecdotal impression of what you've read. From my experiences living within it, I don't think US society is actually the way you have become convinced it is from your experiences reading and watching things about it. Both of our beliefs are just anecdotal experiences. We could get closer to the truth with a bunch of sociology and anthropology, but financially there is no randomized controlled trial for this kind of question.
- unity1001 4y ago> Your comments are also just anecdotes, except that they are second-order, based on your anecdotal impression of what you've read I really doubt that the Randian philosophy that took over the US since Reagan is 'just anecdotes'...
- sanderjd 4y agoRandian philosophy has not taken over the US since Reagan. You seem to have read or watched things that have convinced you of this false thing; those are the anecdotes I'm talking about. Elsewhere, I have conversations just like this with people who are certain that Marxism has taken over the US. They're in a "look at these examples of Marxism" bubble just like you're in a "look at these examples of Randian philosophy" bubble. The truth is that you're both wrong and the reality is a lot more complex (and a lot more interesting).
- sanderjd 4y agoJust realized I typo'd "financially" instead of "fundamentally", but too late to edit now.