Ultra-Rich In Finance Are Meaner Than Rest Of Us

[The Masked Tulip]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-09-06/finance-s-mega-rich-are-meaner-than-rest-of-us-commentary-by-matthew-lynn.html

There is an increasing amount of evidence that the rich are a vicious tribe of people. One study last year from the University of California, Berkeley, found that the rich are ruder than others. Another piece of research, conducted at the same institution, concluded they were less likely to give to charity than poorer people were. A third study, carried out at the Humboldt University in Berlin, concluded they were “nastier,” in the sense of being keener to punish others.

Top of Tree

Nothing is shocking about that. You don’t get to be rich without being difficult and demanding. You need some sharp elbows to get to the top of the tree, and there is no point in being squeamish about treading on a few toes along the way. And the rich have a lot more to protect than other people: They have to be fierce to hang on to all that wealth.

They have probably been vicious ever since one caveman used a bigger club to take control of the grandest cave on the hill.

In the past, most fortunes were built in association with ordinary people. Factory owners were aware of the shop-floor workers on whom their wealth depended, and that shaped the view of themselves. Carmaker Henry Ford doubled his workers’ average pay to $5 a day in 1913 and shortened their working hours. The Cadbury family of chocolate makers in the U.K. built a small town for many of the company’s workers in Bournville, near Birmingham, in the 19th century. That made them more human.

The growth of the financial-services industry and the bonus culture has changed that. The investment bankers and hedge-fund managers who make up most of the new rich elite don’t have much contact with ordinary people. They assume their wealth is entirely the result of their own brilliance. And they cut themselves off from normal life.

It is an industry that mints billionaires and also breeds arrogance, selfishness and snobbishness.

Should have strung the whole lot 2 years ago IMPO.

[Cinzano Bianco]

There is an increasing amount of evidence that the rich are a vicious tribe of people. One study last year from the University of California, Berkeley, found that the rich are ruder than others. Another piece of research, conducted at the same institution, concluded they were less likely to give to charity than poorer people were. A third study, carried out at the Humboldt University in Berlin, concluded they were “nastier,” in the sense of being keener to punish others.

Erm, this isn't exactly groundbreaking stuff, to be fair.

[Meat Puppet]

There is evidence that the truly psychopathic are in control of our corporations and governments.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/96/open_boss.html?page=0%2C1

This article gives a good overview. I like the following:

"The psychopath has no difficulty dealing with the consequences of rapid change; in fact, he or she thrives on it," Babiak claims. "Organizational chaos provides both the necessary stimulation for psychopathic thrill seeking and sufficient cover for psychopathic manipulation and abusive behavior."

One thing I am reasonably confident in is that "change" is accelerating and it is providing a nice feeding ground for the psychopath.

[Dorkins]

Should have strung the whole lot 2 years ago IMPO.

Still plenty of time, the money addicts haven't gone anywhere. Those soft pink necks are just a little fatter than they were in 2008, that's all.

[Gone baby gone]

You don't even have to look at the ultra rich to see it.

When I was a paperboy in the early 80s, I noticed the Christmas tip was inversely proportional to the size of the house the person giving it lived in.

[Si1]

You don't even have to look at the ultra rich to see it.

When I was a paperboy in the early 80s, I noticed the Christmas tip was inversely proportional to the size of the house the person giving it lived in.

+1

[The Masked Tulip]

There is evidence that the truly psychopathic are in control of our corporations and governments.

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/96/open_boss.html?page=0%2C1

This article gives a good overview. I like the following:

One thing I am reasonably confident in is that "change" is accelerating and it is providing a nice feeding ground for the psychopath.

Psychopaths succeed in conventional society in large measure because few of us grasp that they are fundamentally different from ourselves. We assume that they, too, care about other people's feelings. This makes it easier for them to "play" us. Although they lack empathy, they develop an actor's expertise in evoking ours. While they don't care about us, "they have an element of emotional intelligence, of being able to see our emotions very clearly and manipulate them," says Michael Maccoby, a psychotherapist who has consulted for major corporations.

Psychopaths are typically very likable. They make us believe that they reciprocate our loyalty and friendship. When we realize that they were conning us all along, we feel betrayed and foolish. "People see sociopathy in their personal lives, and they don't have a clue that it has a label or that others have encountered it," says Martha Stout, a psychologist at the Harvard Medical School and the author of the recent best-seller The Sociopath Next Door: The Ruthless Versus the Rest of Us (Broadway Books, 2005). "It makes them feel crazy or alone. It goes against our intuition that a small percentage of people can be so different from the rest of us -- and so evil. Good people don't want to believe it."

Very true. It is nigh impossible for a human being who has empathy to comprehend that there are people who totally lack it.

[Georgia O'Keeffe]

Erm, this isn't exactly groundbreaking stuff, to be fair.

No to be honest this study has shaken the foundations of my whole belief system given the peaceful nature of humanity throughout history

[Britney's Piers]

In the past, most fortunes were built in association with ordinary people. Factory owners were aware of the shop-floor workers on whom their wealth depended, and that shaped the view of themselves. Carmaker Henry Ford doubled his workers’ average pay to $5 a day in 1913 and shortened their working hours. The Cadbury family of chocolate makers in the U.K. built a small town for many of the company’s workers in Bournville, near Birmingham, in the 19th century. That made them more human.

There's no point in mass production if the masses can't afford what you're producing, or have no time to use it. This is a forgotten lesson that business will have to re-learn soon.

Edited September 10, 2010 by Britney's Piers

[pandora's box]

Very true. It is nigh impossible for a human being who has empathy to comprehend that there are people who totally lack it.

Not so, hence I delighted in the delicious irony of the post following yours...

Tamara De Lempicka said:

No to be honest this study has shaken the foundations of my whole belief system given the peaceful nature of humanity throughout history.

[goldilocksporridge]

Very true. It is nigh impossible for a human being who has empathy to comprehend that there are people who totally lack it.

yeah read Robert Greene the 33 strategies of war - I am not sure if its just people at the top who are sociopaths - I think are entire society is turning more sociopathic.