Reflection On The Culture Of The Plutocrat

The main premise of the second chapter of Plutocrats, the Culture of the Plutocrat, is to give readers a sense of the culture of the world that the ultra rich grow from and live in. While many preconceived notions that the average person has about the ultra rich in are confirmed, many are also challenged. According to Freeland, the 1% has shifted from the rentier class to the working rich; over the past 8 years the amount of ultra rich who receive one-fifth of their income from working wages has grown from only 1% to 60%. The chapter confirms that the technology industry and the financier industry reign supreme when it comes to income, and young initiative and education courses are confirmed as having the biggest effect on a person 's financial and professional outcome in life. It …show more content…
This animosity poses a question of why the lower class and lower middle class, which is what my respondents would all classify themselves as, would seem to have such animosity towards the rich, even when told they were self-made million and billionaires. There is such an enormous gap between the average citizen and those who make up the plutocracy, which creates a divide between the classes. The ultra rich are no longer seen as normal human beings who came from similar backgrounds as us, but almost as another species altogether. The stark contrast between lifestyles makes it very hard for a middle-class citizen, much less for someone who lives in poverty, to even try to relate to someone who belongs to the plutocracy. In the words of one respondent, when asked if she saw that the ultra rich still had anxieties and worries, "Yeah, of course they worry about stuff, but they are worrying about when to fly their private jet to Monaco while I 'm over here worrying about making my $240 car payment this month and keeping the lights