Do we of the “hoi polloi” tend to toady to the rich?

[The Lone Liberal]

Background for question: I am currently reading “the Natural History of the Rich, a Field Guide”by Richard Conniff. He has written for such publications as Smithsonian, National Geographic, and Worth. With this book he tries his hand at ethnology of the rich. In the book he tells this story:

Gertrude Vanderbuilt Whitney,…was an immensely rich woman whose deepest wish was to be known not for her money but for her talent as and artist, which was, alas small. She once sponsored an event at her Greenwich Village studio, according to biographer Barbara Goldsmith, in which each of the other artists was to produce a finished canvas over three days. George Luks, a painter from the Ashcan School, got stinking drunk, then tailed Whitney around the room in a cloud of whiskey. “Mr. Luks, why do you keep following me?” she demanded finally.

“Mrs. Whitney,” he replied, “because you are so damned rich.”

This brings forth the question do we consider the wealthy to have arisen through, Konrad Lorenz thinks, some form of “cultural pseudo-speciation” until they have become another species? Do they view us, that is when they see us, as a different form of life, as a sub-species? If this is so, then why is it that we tend to structure the society for their care and maintenance? Why do we support social mores and political systems that bind us in subservience to wealth? Just a few of the questions that hang in the air as you read Conniff’s book.

[greatauntoftriplets]

1. Sadly....

the rich tend to be our employers, or at least our supervisors.

[Bluzmann57]

2. From a working stiff

I have met a few "very rich" people( a world famous eye surgeon and her mother in law, a baseball player, among others) and was not overly impressed. They work and worry as do the rest of us, just in a different way. My wife is in R&D for a large corporation, and is living with me, for goodness sakes. BTW, This corporation has its own airport and flies her all over the USA. So I believe that anyone who is overly impressed by the very wealthy may be somewhat shallow.

[Brucey]

3. Really good questions.

It does appear that the rich get privileges, even from the poor, far and above others. Look at those stupid TV shows that pretend a man is rich... the women fall all over him. It has been said that the poor favor the rich in society because they believe they will someday be there too. I doubt that. I think looking up to the rich has some evolutionary value. I imagine amongst our ancestors adoring the rich more likely led to survival. It seems to be in the species. An interesting look at the rich is Christopher Jenks book Inequalities. He points out that the most common way people become rich is by inheritance, and the second most common is luck (being in the right place at the right time, like Bill Gates's secretary). It is not true that people get rich by hard work. I work much harder than Prince, but he is a lot richer than me. And more adored.

[Nikia]

5. I hadn't thought of the evolutionary thing

In smaller sized societies, where everyone really knew everyone, of course it was better to be nice to the rich. That might actually get you somewhere. They might share with you. If they have power over you and others, you might not have to work as hard and get to hang out with them instead. They would actually be friends with poor people because there probably was only one rich person in the band or if there were multiple, they were enemies. Some where along the way as society became larger, many rich people began to separate themselves from the rest of society and prefer being with other rich people and fearing that poorer people just wanted their money rather than companionship. Really, there are still some nice rich people out there. Some even don't appear overly rich. I think that there always is that question of whether people like them for themselves or for their money. Perhaps that is why some rich people in smaller towns don't want to appear rich if they don't have ready access to lots of other rich people or really don't like other rich people much.

[Beam Me Up]

4. Yes, these are good questions.

Lets not forget, however, that most Americans, even with limited incomes, are "rich" compared to the vast majority of people on this Earth. Benefits of being on the inside of the Evil Empire.

However, at the same time, we need to consider that true wealth can not be measured by how much money one earns or how much 'buying power' that money has. Real wealth is qualitative. A truly "wealthy" human being, regardless of his or her financial circumstances, is inwardly free from all or at least most of the outward tyrannies that make up our world. Such persons are exceedingly rare but when you meet one you can not help but be impressed--regardless of their social status. By such standards most of us, especially the "rich," are paupers.

[The Lone Liberal]

6. I would question that “most Americans” are rich compared to anyone anywher

Extreme poverty is rampant in this country. If 2.5 million children are going to bed each night hunger then they are no better off than a hungry child in any third world country.

As for the looking for some internal compensation for being preyed upon by the 250,000 wealthy of the country, you may be correct; however, if you are not rich you had better do it quickly, for you are not going to live as long as do the rich.