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For many of those with the most, greed is still good

04 Mar 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

“If God is for us, who can be against us?” asks Saint Paul in this Sunday’s second reading, suggesting that followers of Christ were entitled to confidently expect much from God. God will “give us everything else” along with the gift already offered of the only Son, Paul promises. The rich are also feeling pretty entitled these days, a new study suggests--so much so that they are more likely to lie, cheat, cut off pedestrians when driving, engage in illegal behavior, and, yes, even take candy from children. A study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences reported that researchers at the University of California at Berkeley analyzed a person's rank in society (measured by wealth, occupational prestige, and education) and found that those who were richer were more likely to engage in unethical activities than those who were poorer. “We found that it is much more prevalent for people in the higher ranks of society to see greed and self-interest . . . as good pursuits,” said Paul Piff, lead author of the study and a doctoral candidate at Berkeley. “This resonates with a lot of current events these days.” The report contradicts the notion that poor people are more likely to act unethically out of financial necessity. Instead, the researchers wrote the "relative independence" and "increased privacy" of the wealthy make them more likely to act unethically. They also share "feelings of entitlement and inattention to the consequences of one's actions on others" that may play into their moral decisions. In one experiment, wealthier people took twice as many candies as poorer people from a jar that had been designated for children. In another study, nearly half of all drivers of expensive cars cut off pedestrians at crosswalks, while no drivers of the cheapest cars and about 30 percent of drivers of cheaper cars did the same thing. Other experiments indicated that rich people were more likely to cheat in a game and lie to a potential job applicant about the possibility that their position was being eliminated than were their poorer counterparts. The study adds to a growing body of evidence indicating that the rich tend to be less sensitive than others. The mere mention of money makes people less generous, less helpful, and less likely to look for teammates, according to research by Kathleen Vohs, a marketing professor at the University of Minnesota. A study by Adam Waytz and Nicholas Epley, professors at Northwestern University and the University of Chicago respectively, found that people with more social connections are more likely to dehumanize others. And a report from researchers at the University of California-Berkeley released in December came to a similar conclusion: That rich people are less likely to feel empathy. "This has some pretty clear implications," said Piff. "Inequality is very much on Americans' minds, and the potential effects of severe inequality on individual levels of behavior are major." At the same time it's difficult to say whether richer people get to the top because of their unethical behavior or whether wealth causes people to become this way, said Piff. "It seems like a vicious cycle." Sources: Articles by Bonnie Kavoussi for The Huffington Post and Miaela Conley for ABC News

wealthy rich greed entitlement self-interest paul piff adam waytz nicholas epley kathleen vohs inequality

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Word of the Week

24 November 2024

Solemnity

\sə-'lem-nə-tē\

From Latin sollemnis for “fixed ceremonial,” highest-ranking day of the church calendar that celebrates a mystery of faith such as the Trinity, an event in the life of Jesus, Mary, the Mother of God, or another important saint. Solemnities override every other feast or memorial, including Sundays in Ordinary Time. The church assigns Sundays and solemnities three readings—from a prophet, apostle, and gospel—to instruct the faithful in the work of salvation.

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