On Meritocracy 2

Here is an article from the New York Times documenting the evidence rich people are less compassionate. The reasons are fairly straightforward.

I have often wondered why some countries or societies have so many more social restrictions, rules of etiquette, than others. In Europe and North America etiquette has been declining in importance for the last couple hundred years. But in China and Japan (in fact most Asian societies I know of) etiquette is still extremely important. The answer is pretty simple. Etiquette started declining in importance in the west as populations became more spread out and physical mobility increased. This is most true of places like England where social dominance had long belonged in London but economic dominance spread out as a result of the industrial revolution. You had to know the rules to get in with London society but the advantages of being in became less and less significant. In France, with Paris as its social hub, etiquette remains more significant because Paris is also the economic hub. If you are out in Paris, the potential limitations are extreme.

In China and Japan rules of etiquette are strictly maintained because of the density of inhabitation and the limitations on physical mobility. In China internal visas are required to move and in Japan (at least until recently) any move had to be registered with the government in one's home prefecture. You have to get along with your neighbours because they are always going to be your neighbours. And the more frequently you see them, the more interactions you have, the more stereotyped those interactions become as a way of ensuring the fundamental goal of politics (living together without chaos). That's why the American west is seen as rough and a certain lack of social graces among Westerners is still considered both permissible and authentic.

The rich have no neighbours. They have no restrictions on physical mobility. they are insulated from the results of their own behaviour by layers of legal and personal protection. They can be rude as fuck with no consequences. They are also free from all obligations toward others - they never see those hypothetical others. As a realtor who deals exclusively in ultra-luxury properties put it, "People worth $300M can't talk to just anyone."