Progressives, Wealth, and Oppression

Is it capitalists' fault wealth is used to keep people down?

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For progressives wealth is an instrument of oppression.

In their view wealth creates power and status that is then used to keep people down and deprive them of their dignity. For this they blame capitalism.

But, to borrow from the left’s parlance, that’s just like an opinion man.

And a mostly wrong one at that.

The majority of the middle class and below don’t believe rich people are using their wealth to keep them down.

Nor do they resent others on the basis of power, status, or money.

They’re too busy living their lives to hate people they don’t know.

Members of the middle class do, however, resent incompetent people they’ve been forced to come into contact with.

Or they resent the government -- that they sometimes have to rely on -- for being poor stewards of the resources they were entrusted with.

The same is true for most wealthy people. They don’t have an interest in keeping people down.

They just want to keep making money without the government getting in their business. Literally.

But for wealthy progressives who hate business and commerce it’s a different story.

Maintaining power and status over others is important to them.

After all it’s the one thing they believe they're allowed to enjoy -- since they're inherently superior due to the righteousness of their convictions and since money is evil then they figure they might as well enjoy power.

Which they then use to sink those above them in the status hierarchy with government regulations, additional taxes, fines, fees, and other mandates.

Likewise wealthy progressives feel they must stay away from the poor just as much as they must sink others whom are wealthy.

Not only because they believe hanging around poverty jeopardizes their fragile social status, but because they believe the poor are fundamentally repulsive for having bad taste and crude manners.

So progressives are right in thinking that some wealthy people do want to keep others down.

But that’s not the fault of capitalism.

It’s the fault of oppressive progressives who pledge to launch crusades against wealth, while eventually becoming wealthy, only to be miserable and dissatisfied.

Maybe then instead of decrying money while making it progressives should form communes and convents. There their contempt for wealth and religious sentiments about the perfect equality of all people could be better appreciated.

The market -- for both goods and services and religion in general -- would appreciate it.

Zigmund Reichenbach has an M.A. in Philosophy from West Chester University and works as an advocate for less government by day.

You can help him combat bad ideas in politics and philosophy by donating to his work at https://ko-fi.com/zigmundreichenbach .

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