According to a study, rich people are more prone being less socially conscience. I know I speak for downtrodden when I say… duh. I can’t think of a society in all of human history where the wealthy didn’t stay on the top from the sweat and toil of the poor. Kings, emperors, shoguns, and various royalty knew this for centuries! I am fully aware that there are socially responsible wealthy out there (more power to you), unfortunately those seem to be a part of the minority. I’d imagine that the world would be a more socially conscience place if weighted the other way.
I don’t really see how we need a study to show us how the wealthy shape society to benefit themselves. I think the serf/king model really does nicely to show human behavior. Take the Tea Party for example. The humor writer in me wants to make a Tea Bag joke but I will be way more mature than that and call them poopie heads. They are generally opposed to the idea of socialized healthcare. Now let’s apply healthcare to the serf/king system.
As a serf, I toil on the land all day. My lord sits in the castle eating the mutton from my toils and drinking Appletini’s (he’s sick of ale). However, serfs don’t have a health benefits to prevent ailments such as leprosy and plague so half the work force dies. The lord really has no incentive to get the farmers healthcare (not that they would want it because it usually involve leeches) because the farmer will toil regardless. The serf understands that food is put on the table via work. Whereas the lord get’s food regardless. Usually, most lords don’t have a clue anything is wrong until the peasant revolt is well underway and by then it’s too late to really enact any change.
Thus we have the core issue of the rich. They don’t understand that being socially responsible will help them in the long run because they don’t see the direct gain. There really is no incentive for creating social change. Thus we have Tea Party like entities that supports policies that really wouldn’t affect them. Healthcare doesn’t really mean anything to a person that afford care without it. However, when medical procedure can wipe an entire life’s savings or be inaccessible due to money concerns, healthcare becomes a big issue.
While I don’t see the American public revolting with pitchforks and torches to take out the wealthy in the near future, I do see trouble on the horizon if socially irresponsible policies continue to be created. Even healthcare is something that can provide gain to the upper class. Ultimately, a healthy working class will call into work less, cost less to provide care (by focusing on preventative care), and work harder for a place that takes care of them. Creating a better world costs money and the well off must understand that for our species to evolve.
I am not part of that upper class. But if I ever got there, I’d feel it would be my civic responsibility to take care of the people that help keep me there. After all, the upper class money comes from the lower classes that buy that burger, movie ticket, album, gas, etc. How could I not feel the need to care for the millions that give me the ability to go to any country on a private jet? A lower class individual understands the value of sacrifice and pro-social behavior for long term gain. I think it’s time the upper class learns those values.
That’s why I have devised a program to create socially conscience members of society. I call it the Painstick Preparedness Plan. For those Star Trek lovers, the Painstick is a Klingon implement that jolts a person with pain. Every time a person yammers on about a policy that gives a small group of advantaged people an even bigger advantage. Painstick time! A few jolts to the socially irresponsible and thus will emerge the better world. Because violence solves everything!
Time Burrito 