SOME people believe there is hate or dislike for the wealthy, or 1 percent of the world, amongst the middle and lower classes. Many, including said classes, will say that sometimes it’s even a projection of jealousy or envy. That may be the case in some instances but it isn’t always so. As a social worker and someone who sat through and enjoyed sociology courses, I am included to write on this topic. I want us to look beyond “envy” and “jealousy” when we discuss this topic. It must be nice to have your needs and wants meeting without having to worry about budgeting your next paycheck or feeding many mouths from minimum wage salaries. Many in the lower and middle classes probably aren’t envious of your riches. They simply wish life was easier for them. Quite frankly, I’m sure if many societal odds weren’t against them, many of them would be financially stable as well. It isn’t always their (our) fault.

Usually, in capitalism, wealth is unequally shared (in the eyes of socialists). Money in an Economy is not infinite. The more you earn and hoard your wealth, the more you take away from the poor. Usually, wealthy people also exploit the poor as well to get where they are. Whether it be they exploit them for their labour & pay them poor wages or other more vile exploitations—I think you know what I mean by those. I’m not saying all wealthy and rich people are the same. However, these are still factors to consider when we discuss wealth and riches. It allows for a holistic conversation and understanding of the dislike for wealth and money. The dislike for some people (when it isn’t deep-rooted envy) usually stems from the exploitation aspect of earning such a status.

There are other underlying factors to consider as well. Such as; colonialism. Most of the multi-giant cooperation in the world were built with money/wealth worked for by slaves. Money/wealth is easily the currency for corruption & power imbalances in many social structures. This is something that is oddly familiar in our Guyanese culture—need I not say more? Racism, colourism, classism, and many other saddening social issues were deep-rooted in the fight for wealth. The advantageous social group intentionally created these social patterns to basically divide and conquer.

Sadly, this fight will continue long after our time expires on this earth—for many more years to come. I want lower, middle, and even moderate-income citizens to remember that a piece of paper should not determine your value. Your bank statement does not determine your worth. In a compassionate world, we should all be able to equally and rightfully succeed—no matter who we are, what we look like, or where we came from. These are things people don’t forget easily. The dislike for them doesn’t always stem from jealousy. Sometimes it stems from a much deeper, complex, yet hurtful place.