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Page added on November 22, 2017

Why Are Rich People So Anxious?

“The psychology of wealth is knotty,” writes Kerry Hannon in the New York Times. “On the surface, being wealthy can make people believe they have more control over their lives, but it can also control them emotionally.”

Hannon’s article, headlined “I’m Rich, and That Makes Me Anxious,” will probably elicit eye rolls from those of us eternally beholden to bosses and landlords and banks. We can be forgiven for failing to muster compassion. “No one gets a lot of empathy talking about these things,” admits James Grubman, a psychologist to the wealthy. But that doesn’t change the reality he sees every day: that wealth can generate immense anxiety, insecurity, and fear — even as it also provides comfort, stability, and freedom.

The observation that wealth overlaps with despair has never been entirely foreign to socialist thought. Capitalism distributes resources and power unevenly; the rich get rich in ways that bar the majority of the world’s population from accessing basic goods and exercising basic freedoms, which diminishes happiness overall.

But contentment and misery don’t map perfectly onto wealth and poverty. The multimillionaires in Hannon’s article are found to harbor intense feelings of guilt, self-doubt, and above all, anxiety that their savings will be stolen or squandered due to miscalculations or misfortunes. Are the bourgeoisie, too, held hostage by capitalism?

Socialists have considered the question from time to time, perhaps most memorably, Oscar Wilde. Wilde was a keen observer of bourgeois habits, manners, and affectations, an Irish outsider with an ironic sensibility who found the British elite both fascinating and pitiful. In “The Soul of Man Under Socialism” Wilde wrote:

The industry necessary for making money is also very demoralising. In a community like ours, where property confers immense distinction, social position, honour, respect, titles, and other pleasant things of the kind, man, being naturally ambitious, makes it his aim to accumulate this property, and goes on wearily and tediously accumulating it long after he has got far more than he wants, or can use, or enjoy, or perhaps even know of. Man will kill himself by overwork in order to secure property, and really, considering the enormous advantages that property brings, one is hardly surprised. One’s regret is that society should be constructed on such a basis that man has been forced into a groove in which he cannot freely develop what is wonderful, and fascinating, and delightful in him — in which, in fact, he misses the true pleasure and joy of living. He is also, under existing conditions, very insecure. An enormously wealthy merchant may be — often is — at every moment of his life at the mercy of things that are not under his control. If the wind blows an extra point or so, or the weather suddenly changes, or some trivial thing happens, his ship may go down, his speculations may go wrong, and he finds himself a poor man, with his social position quite gone.

This latter point is an important one. This isn’t the age of kings anymore; most wealthy people now have to hustle if they want to retain their privilege and avoid sinking into the lower classes. The bourgeoisie has created a fair amount of work for itself through its own exploitative practices, generating the very threat of exploitation that compels it to replicate and sustain those practices, seemingly in its own interest.

Capitalism forces everyone, including the ruling class, into a position of market dependence and market discipline. Here’s Ellen Meiskins Wood explaining how universal that discipline is under capitalism:

This distinct system of market-dependence means that the requirements of competition and profit-maximisation are the fundamental rules of life.… What may not always be so clear, even in socialist accounts of the market, is that the distinctive and dominant characteristic of the capitalist market is not opportunity or choice but, on the contrary, compulsion. Material life and social reproduction in capitalism are universally mediated by the market, so that all individuals must, in one way or another, enter into market-relations in order to gain access to the means of life. This unique system of market-dependence means that the dictates of the capitalist market — its imperatives of competition, accumulation, profit maximisation, and increasing labour-productivity — regulate not only all economic transactions but social relations in general.

Market dependence can compel capitalists to behave in ways they feel ambivalent or guilty about, or that can alienate them from others. Vivek Chibber offers a clear analysis of how capitalism structures the behavior of capitalists themselves:

Simply surviving the competitive battle thus forces capitalist to prioritize the qualities associated with the “entrepreneurial spirit” … Whatever his prior socialization might have been, he quickly learns that he will have to conform to the rules attached to his location or his establishment will be driven under. It is a remarkable property of the modern class structure that any significant deviation by a capitalist from the logic of market competitiveness shows up as a cost in some way — a refusal to dump toxic sludge manifests as a loss in market share to those who will; a commitment to use safer but more expensive inputs shows up as a rise in unit costs, and so on. Capitalists thus feel an enormous pressure to adjust their normative orientation — their values, goals, ethics, etc. — to the social structure in which they are embedded, not vice versa.… The moral codes that are encouraged are those that help the bottom line.

It’s always the poor who pay the steepest price for the transgressions of the rich. Yet that reality coexists with the constant compulsion to compete, dominate, and accumulate — or suffer the consequences. That such conditions could make even a materially comfortable person feel trapped, pressured, anxious, guilty, and depressed isn’t so surprising. That’s why Marx called the working class the “universal class” — the class whose liberation will lead to a universal improvement in the human condition.

Here’s Wood again, laying out the only solution that will work for everyone:

The best that socialists can do is to aim as much as possible to detach social life from market dependence. That means striving for the decommodification of as many spheres of life as possible, and their democratisation — not just their subjection to the political rule of ‘formal’ democracy, but their removal from the direct control of capital and from the ‘impersonal’ control of market-imperatives, which subordinate every human need and practice to the requirements of accumulation and profit-maximisation.

The primary aim of socialism is, of course, to benefit the masses — the billions now exploited, dispossessed, and controlled by a miniscule ruling class. But there is a psychological, if not necessarily material, upside for the wealthy, too. As Wilde put it:

“If property had simply pleasures, we could stand it; but its duties make it unbearable. In the interest of the rich we must get rid of it.”

jacobinmag

105 Comments on "Why Are Rich People So Anxious?"

Makati1 on Wed, 22nd Nov 2017 10:43 pm

“Despite being the most educated generation ever to walk the face of the
planet, at least according to their tuition bills paid by mom and dad, a
staggering number of millennials still can’t seem to land a steady job. Moreover, despite the steadily improving labor market, as the USA Today points out, the outlook for millennials continues to inexplicably deteriorate with 20% of 26-34 year olds currently living at home with mom versus only 17% back in 2012.”

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-11-22/labor-market-conundrum-number-millennials-living-home-mom-continues-surge

“So why does the professional development of millennials continue to diverge from other generations? While one can never be sure, perhaps the answer to that question lies in the personal experience of young Heidi Toth who decided to quit her job, after gaining just two years of experience, to join a church mission for nearly two years. Then, after returning to work from her travels, Toth quit again in 2013 after a “series of layoffs modified her duties”…which we assume roughly translates to…”a bunch of people got fired which meant I had to work harder so I quit.””

Snowflakes….

MASTERMIND on Wed, 22nd Nov 2017 10:50 pm

Like I said Madkat they are using enhanced oil recovery to drain the last drops out of their oil wells. Its a zero sum game. And once the world economy collapses what will china need oil for anymore? There whole economy will come crashing down along with Russia’s…You are so dumb…You think that your wishes are better then my facts..They are not..And 60 percent of China’s silk road are in junk status..Its not going to work..

MASTERMIND on Wed, 22nd Nov 2017 10:59 pm

Madkat

I know if young people are all snowflakes then that makes you are hard ass…People who are really hard don’t have to judge others…You are so pathetic…Stop taking it out on the world that you are an impotent old man. Be honest that is why your wife left you. Because you couldn’t please her anymore so you were no use..You are just an ignorant old man who believes fake news. Too dumb to use actual studies and science.

Makati1 on Wed, 22nd Nov 2017 11:02 pm

Dream on MM, Dream on. You have given ZERO facts, just bullshit. Where are your refs?

I’m waiting…

You want to believe in the American “indispensable” fairy, but she doesn’t exist. The rest of the world s going to continue long after the US goes down. AND, be a better place for the loss.

“It’s possible that one day soon, Americans will wake up to a new reality. Once the petrodollar kicks the bucket and the dollar loses its status as the world’s premier reserve currency, you will have few, if any, options. …

After the collapse of the petrodollar, the US government will be desperate enough to implement capital controls, people controls, nationalization of retirement savings, and other forms of wealth confiscation.

I urge you to prepare for the economic and sociopolitical fallout while you still can. Expect bigger government, less freedom, shrinking prosperity… and possibly worse.”

Tic Tic Tic…

Makati1 on Wed, 22nd Nov 2017 11:03 pm

BTW: http://www.internationalman.com//articles/the-cardinal-sin-of-international-finance

Ref for the above statement.

Makati1 on Wed, 22nd Nov 2017 11:06 pm

Can’t take the bullshit you shovel out MM?

You regress to the snowflake stage with every post that tries to put down your betters. LOL

P.S. I’m still waiting for your ‘facts’.

GregT on Wed, 22nd Nov 2017 11:57 pm

19 of the last 20 posts are from Americans. Judging from the discourse amongst y’all, things aren’t looking all that great.

United you stand, divided you will fall.

GregT on Thu, 23rd Nov 2017 12:10 am

This West Coast Canadian anti-American extremist, is done with making any attempts at trying to help you Americans get along with each other.

Knock yourselves out boys. Have fun! 🙂

GregT on Thu, 23rd Nov 2017 12:17 am

And Davy,

Stop with the sock puppetry. You’re making yourself look even more stupid than you already did.

GregT on Thu, 23rd Nov 2017 12:20 am

Makati,

Tyler Durden is not a reliable source of factual information. You can do better than that.

Cloggie on Thu, 23rd Nov 2017 12:22 am

Every day I pray French Revolution 2.0 will happen in America soon. Wouldn’t it be a grand ole’ time taking part in the celebrations of the jubilant crowds while corporate executives, bankers and politicians get sent to the guillotines and gallows?

It’s coming.

Millimind opines: Nationalism is the measles of mankind -Albert Einstein (Jew)

Einstein like the rest of his tribe opts for communism… the whole world under the control of his kind. They had the USSR between 1917 and [1938-1953] (gradual decline) and that was it.

They still have the US, between 1933 until November 2016, when they lost the presidency. Won’t be long until they lose the US as well, now that the NWO is going to fail big time. And then J-power is over. Exit Marxist century. London will be a majority Muslim town, after the Euro’s will have left post-Brexit. Write that off as well.

Cloggie the fascist loves him alpha male strong man Putin..Why? Closet homosexual of course… And good job spamming this site with Putin’s Russian propaganda sources. Does he have your email address in his troll farm?

I “love” Putin because he is the savior of Europe. He, together with China, blocked the world’s last commies, that is you. He humiliated you in Syria. And now the 700 million of Euro-Siberia and 1.3B of China are going to divide the Anglo loot between them, just like the USSR and USA divided the European loot between themselves in 1945.

That’s is why I am upbeat and you are all depressed and using “peak oil” as a political correct fig-leaf to hide your real fear behind. There is collapse coming to America, but it won’t be PO or CC (that will come later). The real collapse will be social, ethnic divisions. Ethnic groups that will have to fight over ever less resources. And then there is the petro-dollar. If KSA falls, the petro-dollar falls and America is below Romania level. The remaining achieving whites will try to escape and we in Europe will of course come to their aid and help to get the US over with.

Now why don’t you do our European bidding and start a “French Revolution”, millimind?

And Cloggie why don’t you white nationalist cucks ever go marching into the inter cities? Oh yea because you would get your ass kicked that is why…

Who gets his ass kicked again?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEekfL_4hYY

German minister and US vassal chased out of town:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3HYk-7bZ-Y

He and Merkel are toast.

For three years now, Pegida is demonstrating weekly in large numbers. They enabled the AfD:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0MdOStRaOs

Antifa has nothing like that.

GregT on Thu, 23rd Nov 2017 12:35 am

You’re wasting your time Cloggie. Davy and his sock puppet are clearly far more intelligent than you are.

You can’t just read and study shit and stuff, and expect to know more than what’s on TV.

GregT on Thu, 23rd Nov 2017 12:53 am

“Mad Kat, China becomes more exposed to the dangers of oil import interruption by the month and you dismiss the dangers. Could it be you are in denial because of a blind agenda?”

Davy is correct Mad Kat. China imports a lot of oil, and is running a huge deficit. Difficult to dismiss the dangers. Do you have a blind agenda Mad Kat?