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

The rich are different — and not in a good way, studies suggest
The 'Haves' show less empathy than 'Have-nots'

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 other words, rich people are more likely to think about themselves. “They think that economic success and political outcomes, and personal outcomes, have to do with individual behavior, a good work ethic,” said Keltner, a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.

Because the rich gloss over the ways family connections, money and education helped, they come to denigrate the role of government and vigorously oppose taxes to fund it.

“I will quote from the Tea Party hero Ayn Rand: “‘It is the morality of altruism that men have to reject,’” he said.

Whether or not Keltner is right, there certainly is a “let them cake” vibe in the air. Last week The New York Times reported on booming sales of luxury goods, with stores keeping waiting lists for $9,000 coats and the former chairman of Saks saying, “If a designer shoe goes up from $800 to $860, who notices?”

Then there is the problem of Tea Partiers’ own class position. While they are funded by the wealthy, many do not identify themselves as wealthy (though there is dispute on the real demographics). Still, a strong allegiance to the American Dream can lead even regular folks to overestimate their own self-reliance in the same way as rich people.

As behavioral economist Mark Wilhelm of Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis pointed out, most people could quickly tell you how much they paid in taxes last year but few could put a dollar amount on how they benefited from government by, say, driving on interstate highways, taking drugs gleaned from federally funded medical research, or using inventions created by people educated in public schools.

There is one interesting piece of evidence showing that many rich people may not be selfish as much as willfully clueless, and therefore unable to make the cognitive link between need and resources. Last year, research at Duke and Harvard universities showed that regardless of political affiliation or income, Americans tended to think wealth distribution ought to be more equal.

The problem? Rich people wrongly believed it already was.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44084236/ns ... -behavior/

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You can hear the surprise in *MY* voice... The "Party of Selfish" is now a proven fact... What a surprise.... :Whistle

Coming from an extreme Left social scientist that publishes "Greater Good", yes the surprise in all our voices is obvious.

I don't need someone else to tell me the GOP is the party of selfish......I just have to read the right wing posts here every day. No surprises there LJ.

No shock and/or surprise here!

At least those people are out there fending for themselves right LJ? Instead of being looters and leaches on those of us who actually earn our money!

Proud to be a producer myself- the looters should thank us for supporting them, instead they want to steal more of what we work for.

Talk about greed- Socialism is the greediest of all - and bankrupt morally.

THATS what Ayn Rand was talking about- you all call us greedy when it is YOU who are in reality- the greedy ones.

Get a job hippy!

BearMtnHIB wrote: At least those people are out there fending for themselves right LJ? Instead of being looters and leaches on those of us who actually earn our money!

Proud to be a producer myself- the looters should thank us for supporting them, instead they want to steal more of what we work for.

Talk about greed- Socialism is the greediest of all - and bankrupt morally.

THATS what Ayn Rand was talking about- you all call us greedy when it is YOU who are in reality- the greedy ones.

Get a job hippy!

She has one BearMtnHIB....and a very good one at that. Maybe even better than yours.

.............................so, do you have a back up insult??????

.............................so, do you have a back up insult??????

Yea- get a job archer!

had one....had my own company actually, you know....a small business owner who did well enough to put her kids through college, live a very comfortable life, and still retire at 62? And I am still grateful for the opportunities this country afforded me, so I don't whine a lot about my tax dollars helping those who are less fortunate than I have been. You are batting zero so far........I guess liberals just aren't who you thought they were......who knew you could be so wrong?


ok.....what's your next insult?

Yea yea yea.

I'm not the one posting class warfare BS and communist propaganda on here - you all are.

If you and LJ are really doing all those things - you would be able to identify with working people instead of communist deadbeat losers. Which makes me highly suspicious of your grand claims.

Why is it just decided that the rich means GOP or Tea Party? Have you checked who the richest representatives are?

http://www.opensecrets.org/pfds/index.php

Walsh and Rubio have negative net worth. Seems that the dems in congress are selfish...