this post was submitted on 18 Sep 2025
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I think the prerequisite lie to that one is much bigger and more fundamental.
That lie is "you should want to be rich. Rich people are happy people. Rich people are good people. Being rich is the secret to happiness."
Well, that's probably more than one lie but you get the idea.
With a bit more thought, there is a kernel of truth in the lie. What you're saying is true, that we're primed to think of wealth as a virtue. But who among us doesn't think they need the money, if it could solve particular problems or make life just a little more comfortable/decent, for ourselves or someone we know. That's what makes it so seductive I guess.
Yeah, and the instinct to accumulate resources isn't even remotely just a human thing. It's often an essential element of survival.
And for sure a lack of money can cause plenty of problems that legitimately affect your well being. So there are problems for which money is the solution.
But when you constantly focus on the lack of money, whether it's due to actual poverty or because grifters tell you for decades that all your problems are due to single black mom welfare queens getting your tax money, people start to reason that having the money or driving that Lexus SUV is going to be the cure for whatever their underlying non-financial personal issues are.
And since the real world is messy, the financial and personal issues can interact and amplify one another.
And here we are, in the US anyway, about to take this mess and make income inequality even worse while also making access to healthcare worse!