Mind's Eye Re: the rich are mean

On Tuesday, 6 March 2012 11:16:25 UTC, rigsy03 wrote:

That is a piffy generalization- the wealthy have built and contributed
much to society. A popular character type in literature- and life- is
the peasant who would sell his mother if given the chance. Don't
romanticize the poor with virtues they do not possess.

No matter the 'good' that the rich have contributed, they contribute considerably more to the poverty of the poor who then find themselves in a position where they might feel the need to sell their mothers if it meant they could survive another day. There is no place for morality when your survival is on the line. Yet neither is morality much of a concern if you're free to act as you please because your wealth, influence and social status allow you the privilege to intervene in the affairs of the law and twist them to your own advantage. - Granted that is someone a cynical perspective, yet it is not, I think, without some merit worthy of consideration.

The wealthy have contributed mostly towards their own preservation of wealth. Installing power structures and economic systems that perpetuate their influence and affluence whilst contributing far less to solving the problems of the poor than they would rather we believe. The wealthy, for the most part, are not interested in equality or seeing themselves as being obligated towards the rest of society. They are interested in maintaining their wealth and opportunities, and in so doing, whether directly or indirectly, whether knowingly or unknowingly, stifling the wealth and opportunities of others.
 

On Mar 5, 4:56 pm, archytas <nwte...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Dr. Paul Piff has done a number of reasonably scientific experiments
> that demonstrate the wealthy are less inclined to give in experimental
> settings.  You can find a review here -http://www.physorg.com/news/2012-02-upper-class-people.html
> .
>
> I've been exploring some dire financial deals of late and corruption
> in academic circles that eventually pan out in local genocides in
> Africa.  One of the most unethical creeps I worked with was a
> professor of business ethics, but other ethical professionals like
> lawyers often have none.  This link gives the gist -http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2012/03/on-the-continuing-oxymoron-of-...
> .
>
> My view for years has been we need to apply the criminal law and
> police investigation to economics and I think there is little clever
> about money-grubbing, just a set of myths justifying it.