The rich are different — and not in a good way, studies suggest .

[Sarah Ibarruri]

Apparently they are empathy-impaired, poor a**holes.

Here's part of the article:

Psychologist and social scientist Dacher Keltner says the rich really are different, and not in a good way: Their life experience makes them less empathetic, less altruistic, and generally more selfish.

In fact, he says, the philosophical battle over economics, taxes, debt ceilings and defaults that are now roiling the stock market is partly rooted in an upper class "ideology of self-interest."

“We have now done 12 separate studies measuring empathy in every way imaginable, social behavior in every way, and some work on compassion and it’s the same story,” he said. “Lower class people just show more empathy, more prosocial behavior, more compassion, no matter how you look at it.”

In an academic version of a Depression-era Frank Capra movie, Keltner and co-authors of an article called “Social Class as Culture: The Convergence of Resources and Rank in the Social Realm,” published this week in the journal Current Directions in Psychological Science, argue that “upper-class rank perceptions trigger a focus away from the context toward the self….”

The rest of the article is here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44084236/ns/health-behavior/

[aquart]

1. Tax their money to save their souls.

[valerief]

3. That's what their religious leaders tell us! nt

[Divine Discontent]

42. right on!

Make it so!


"Rocco, Moose! Help the judge find his checkbook"

[Union Thug]

2. But these are the job creators whose goodwill trickles down to their beloved flocks of workers. n/t

[Sarah Ibarruri]

5. Yeah, right? They wouldn't harm a flea. nt

[Sarah Ibarruri]

6. Yeah, right? They wouldn't harm a flea. nt

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

4. And here's the problem with Congress.

Most of the members of Congress are, if not downright wealthy, at least well-to-do. These days it's pretty hard for a working-class person to get elected to any federal office because you have to quit your job and campaign full-time for months before an election; the process pretty much weeds out all but the well-off. So, we have a bunch of wealthy, self-interested people running the government - in both parties. No wonder it's so hard to get legislation passed that helps ordinary people.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

8. Exactly. And let's not forget that the mega-rich and corporations lobby to get laws twisted in...

their favor.

[haikugal]

9. Great post!!!

[theHandpuppet]

44. +1000

Couldn't agree with you more!

Come to think of it, when's the last time any regular folks got feted at the "People's House"? Plenty of celebs, big-time contributors, lobbyists, and other rich folks spend the night, attend the lavish banquets, etc. How about inviting some of the folks whose blood and sweat actually PAY for this? How about an overnighter for an unemployed family from Detroit? I'm sure they would enjoy a night of being catered to with the best food and wine. Or how about some weary soldier who just finished his or her third tour in Afghanistan? There are millions of regular folks out there to whom the doors of the "People's House" are locked.

[RZM]

7. I'm surprised the piece didn't mention this famous kerfluffle

http://www.quotecounterquote.com/2009/11/rich-are-different-famous-quote.html

[Demoiselle]

10. You beat me to it:

From the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story “Rich Boy.”(1925)

"Let me tell you about the very rich. They are different from you and me. They possess and enjoy early, and it does something to them, makes them soft where we are hard, and cynical where we are trustful, in a way that, unless you were born rich, it is very difficult to understand. They think, deep in their hearts, that they are better than we are because we had to discover the compensations and refuges of life for ourselves. Even when they enter deep into our world or sink below us, they still think that they are better than we are. They are different."

[RZM]

11. I didn't know the famous 'exchange' was largely made up until I found that link a few minutes ago

About a year ago the fiction reviewer on Fresh Air (the NPR show) referenced the mythological version of the dispute on air. You would think she would have known better :)

[Demoiselle]

14. Neither did I! Sometimes I just luv the Interwebs....

...And I always thought the "Yeah, they have more money" retort sounded like Hemingway made it up after the fact.
Not that I don't love Hemingway's writing...it stuns me to this day....but I'm not sure I would have loved him personally.

[Rex]

12. Well now, doesn't that make our naughty parts tingle?

Uber-rich people hate the working class...it is a mindset.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

13. Who would've thought!? Surely not me! nt

[bighart]

15. So how does this effect all the wealthy and well connected that are in the govermnet?

[Sarah Ibarruri]

17. See post #4 in response to the original post. nt

[bighart]

19. And what it really tells me is

that unless and until we get a majority in congress that actually are "one of us" nothing will change. We don't "deserve" social programs or attention to the issues that impact us day in and day out.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

21. That's about it. Something needs to change drastically or they'll finish off this country nt

[QC]

16. Shocking! n/t

[Sarah Ibarruri]

18. Utterly! nt

[Obamanaut]

20. There are more responses at the earlier thread ->

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1710642

Still on page 1 of GD

[Sarah Ibarruri]

22. I had no idea this has been posted before. My sister read the article and sent the link

We should post it again, so everyone is very aware of this.

[Obamanaut]

31. Why not pick one of the two that are already there, and simply 'kick' it.

Or both of them.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

33. I know how to recommend. nt

[Obamanaut]

34. Not the same as a 'kick.' A 'kick' is anything in the subject line, and the

resultant clicking on the 'post message' button. That moves the thread to the top of the page. Notice how this one moves after I press that button.

A 'rec' does not do that.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

37. I swear I've looked everywhere, and I can't locate the post button. nt

[Obamanaut]

52. Odd. You manage to find the "post message" button every time you respond. nt

[deaniac21]

23. I worked for 2 years at Winrock Farms on Petit Jean mountain

in Arkansas. Winthrop Rockefeller treated all of us like we were family. Drunk often, but a GREAT guy.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

26. There are exceptions. That's why they're called exceptions. Also...

anyone is capable of treating family and friends well. I'm sure even Newt Gingrich and Rush Limbaugh treat someone well.

However, the TREND, and in general, the mega-rich have very little empathy, and could care a rat's ass if the majority are suffering so they can live well.

[deaniac21]

29. He was the only one I have ever known.

[ohheckyeah]

24. This should be filed under

No Shit, Sherlock.

[flamingdem]

25. There's still the "Millionaire" image of generosity associated w/the rich

but it's kind of retro..

[Sarah Ibarruri]

28. Very retro and false. nt

[Sarah Ibarruri]

27. That's what I think too. nt

[marions ghost]

30. Always fearing loss

even while they have so much...they are convinced that people are trying to take something away from them. No sense of "good of the whole."

[Sarah Ibarruri]

38. Yep. nt

[hifiguy]

32. Most of the rich folks I've known have never had

to EARN anything. Dad's name gets them in the door even if they are undistinguished mopes. Family social connections grease the way for their entree into whatever profession they choose (with the possible exception of medicine) but always in "business" or the legal profession at high levels and those "connections" will keep them there regardless of what utter mediocrities, or worse, they are. They have much and feel entitled to every last dime of it without ever having done one thing to deserve it.

A few have been different - they are so easy to remember individually because they are, in fact, so vanishingly few in number.

In my experience about 10-15% of the people I've met from privileged backgrounds have been decent human beings with values recognizable as humane. And even some of them reliably vote Repuke. The rest have been, to one degree or another, scum who would cut your throat for a dime.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

39. Same here. Few wealthy are empathetic, and in fact, some of them are cheap with waiters... nt

mean to maids, complain about high prices, and are all around a**holes.

[mistertrickster]

50. There's an old joke I wish I could remember right--

It goes something like this (and if anybody knows the best version, I'd love to hear it again):

When you associate with hard workers, you pick up the habit of hard work. When you associate with happy people, you pick up the gift of happiness. When you associate with scholars, you pick up a love of scholarship.

And what do you pick up when you associate with rich people?

The check.

[applegrove]

35. The most empathetic people I've ever met were in my dad's family and they were well off.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

40. We should keep a little list of exceptions, I think, tho, that majority doesn't mean all. It means

the majority.

[Proles]

36. There are people who earn large amounts of wealth on their

own, but they are few and far between.

Indeed, the vast majority simply inherit their millions and billions from mommy or daddy and live comfortable lives without needing a job. Yet, they somehow feel entitled to everything, and fearfully protect everything they have from the "mass of parasites" that would take it from them.

Honestly, we should have a heavy inheritance tax for the wealthy. I believe some states do this, but I'm not sure how far it goes.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

41. I couldn't agree more. nt

[lumberjack_jeff]

43. For every asshole whom you know to be rich, there's someone whose net worth would surprise you.

In other words, if they want you to know that they're rich, they're an asshole.

The studies thus manifest selection bias.

[Waiting For Everyman]

45. Yes, it comes from a deliberately murdered conscience. They are dysfunctional.

That's the nice word for it. Antisocial psychotic predators is more accurate.

[Major Hogwash]

46. Not all of us are that way.

According to Dr. Spock it depended on how we were potty trained.
I'm not sure how that intersects here, but maybe it had to do with who was wiping whose butt that was the central theme of his conclusion.

[Zax2me]

47. What a crock of shit.

Class war - stoke it.
Do it now while times are down - anyone not struggling financially is an easy target for our frustrations.
Article is identifying the worst tiny speck of the 'rich' and presenting them as 'all rich people'.
You do that with other classes, races, - you get stoned.


He's projecting the bad rich guy in the movies. You know, the one we all hate and feel good doing it. Rich guy splashes water on the poor vagrant, on side of street, from the wheels of his Rolls Royce.

Yea, and here I am the writer, one of you - applaud me and my writing for identifying with you, because we are good, they are evil.
It's all CRAP.

Sure, some of the cliches are true.
But most aren't.
The biggest lie - they all inherited it.

* Most of us have never felt at a disadvantage because we did not receive any inheritance. About 80 percent of us are first-generation affluent.
http://www.nytimes.com/books/first/s/stanley-millionaire.html

[mistertrickster]

51. Wow, hit a nerve, eh? I grew up in a wealthy family around even wealthier people,

and I'd say it's spot on.

This scientist is doing research that leads to the conclusion.

If you don't agree, do your own research, but don't condemn the scientific method -- and those of us who believe in it -- because it doesn't square with your experience.

[JoeyT]

48. Yep. People think the rich don't know what life is like for most of the country,

but the honest truth is most of them don't give a damn.

A guy with ten bucks in his pocket might spot someone with nothing and give him five and feel good about himself. A guy with ten thousand bucks in his pocket would spot the same guy, yell some nonsense about bootstraps, and feel self righteous. Same reward for entirely different behavior.

[mistertrickster]

49. K&r'd nt

[cyberpj]

53. I just can't accept the ending tone of that article which implies "they can't help it....

...they just don't know any better".

But is was quite interesting to read.

Thanks