[B]eat the Rich

Think Tank #7

Why have lower to middle class American youth been taught to hate people with money?

It’s been a common sentiment in this country since at least the sixties, and it can be traced much farther. It’s the force behind every socialist movement, every naive, angry protest that’s ever existed. You know the stereotype—college kids screaming “eat the rich!” holding poster boards with their friends, before retreating back to their student-loan-funded dorm room or their mother’s couch, producing nothing. Disgruntled worker driving past a house they can’t afford, muttering to themselves something along the lines of “no one should be able to live like that.”

It’s rampant and it’s infectious, and the main crux of its argument is that there’s something unethical about being wealthy. Don’t get me wrong—I’m not defending poverty. But I hate the notion that people aren’t entitled to the wealth that they generate. If this were true, then what incentive would people have to create things of value?

As a disclaimer, I’m not remotely wealthy. I’m also not trying to solve the problems of the world here. I’m simply asking readers to look at this question from a purely selfish point of view.

What’s a more useful mindset: hating rich people because you are not one of them, or figuring out how they got there and aiming to do the same thing?

The former option is rooted in jealousy, anyway; it’s not exactly like it’s admirable. And the latter is the only option that can actually improve the world around you, whether it’s by making a great piece of art or a useful service or a product worth buying.

What world would you rather live in—one where peoples’ envy of one another drives them to compete to be the best they can be, or one where the same thing incentivizes them to create nothing and be bitter about it?

If there is some grand conspiracy out there to keep the poor ‘in their place,’ then the people orchestrating it must love this mentality. Why wouldn’t they? It ensures that everyone who believes it will never, ever, be rich. How can you be, if you’re wasting all your effort hating people who have what you want instead of striving for the same thing? It’s a surefire way to subjugate an entire population.

In all likelihood, though, it’s just another product of human nature—people want what they can’t have, and it’s a lot easier to point the finger than to put your head down and do the work. Don’t fall into the trap.