When the political left vilifies " the rich" why don't they make exceptions for "the rich" people who behave according to their standards?

Perhaps it would draw undue attention to the fact that they themselves are quite wealthy as well?

We do not “vilify the rich” because they are rich, but because of the very fact that they tend to use exploitation, oppression and bribery to acquire and protect their wealth, and screw everyone else.

@ragingloli
I am not rich. Nor have I ever been exploited, oppressed or bribed by the rich. So I guess I have a certain level of ignorance about the basis for your rant.

I hear your mantra, as we all have so many times, but I do not really see how rich people force others to do their bidding or act in violation of their personal nature or values. . All they usually do is offer a job. Which you can take or leave.

I know plenty of extremely wealthy lefties. In general, they have a certain humility, know that they’ve been fortunate, and truly want to give back to their communities. They understand that fortunes can change hands in an instant, and they’re grateful for what they have. When I’ve known rich right-wingers, however, they usually have a sense of entitlement and disdain for anyone who’s a have-not.

I’ve had a dear friend for about 20 years. I love everything about her except her politics, which are irrationally right-wing. Maybe 10 years ago, she had Stage IV cancer. She was too sick to work for a living or afford health insurance, so she gladly accepted disability payments, Medicaid, and every available penny of public assistance. Amazingly, she recovered from cancer. She’s now married to one of the most prominent and successful thoracic surgeons in the U.S. and, yes, they’re very well-set. My friend has completely forgotten that the welfare system saved her life when she was helpless, and she has contempt for anyone who isn’t wealthy and selfish. Needless to say, she and I discuss everything except politics.

@SadieMartinPaul
Funny.

My experience is exactly the opposite of yours. The few rich, leftist, friends that I have are elitists, inheritors or trust funders, and imagine that they are special, thus they are rich.

The few politically right and rich friends that I have had humble origins, work hard and give to charity.

The world is an interesting place I guess.

I reject the premise.

Please let me know when the political left has vilified the rich of late. Please cite a source speaking of them in a “abusively disparaging manner”. Or is this just as an assumption I should make to see the world as you do? And please let me know which sources are the political left, and why.

Sorry Josie, but this is trolling bait. It just isn’t so. Lord knows that Warren Buffet is rich by any standards short of the Saudi Royal Family, and clearly the left holds him in high regard. The targets of progressive’s ire are not the rich but the would-be oligarchs and corporatists; and the Republican Party that’s trying to funnel ever more money to them and away from those in poverty and depredation.

You guys are proving @josie‘s point and you are too blind to see that.

As an undergraduate I became acquainted with Karl Marx. One quotation that has remained with me is “Property is theft.” It was many years before I understood its meaning.

@bkcunningham It is a form of blindness, in fact, to always and only see what your confirmation bias wants to be there. We’re proving a false premise in a set of eyes finely tuned to detect the truth of that false premise.

I also reject the premise. I’m pretty damn left, and I have no problem with rich people. What I have a problem with is greed and lack of compassion. With the gap between the rich and the poor, and policies that further widen that gap. With short sightedness, in not understanding that what helps the least of us helps all of us. As such, Warren Buffet is cool in my book; the Koch brothers…not so much.

I can’t say I’ve ever heard anyone vilify all or even the majority of rich people regardless of their political persuasion. I can’t even recall one politician doing this over here, perhaps it’s a unique US thing. I have heard many ordinary people, from both the left and the right, laud Warren Buffett, Bill Gates, Richard Branson and others for the great work they do for those less fortunate.

As to why left-wing politicians might do this (without conceding that they do), they do it because it doesn’t suit their agenda or their party’s agenda. In the same way as right-wing politicians/parties tailor the messages they disseminate to suit the agenda they’re pushing. It’s campaign tactics. They’re politicians @josie. They all have a particular line they’re pushing (whether they are on the left or the right of the political spectrum) and they aren’t going to confuse their message by pointing out the exceptions. Do you seriously expect politicians to be balanced and fair? It’s up to us as intelligent and critical citizens to see their rhetoric for what it is.

@ETpro, confirmation bias? Doesn’t it work both ways?

Excellent answer @Bellatrix regarding both sides doing this. It isn’t just in the US though.

Some people seem to vilify the left by claiming that the left vilifies the rich.

The vast majority of people left of the center (like myself for example) have no problem with people earning more money than the average when this is justified and fair. When people work hard at university capable of resisting the urge to just hang around and enjoy life 16 hours a day, they deserve to earn more after graduation. Same for people who are very organized and disciplined and ambitious at work – they deserve the raise. Same for people with a lot of responsibility like pilots or doctors who have to make tough decisions relevant to the survival of their passengers or patients.

People on the left have a problem with greed and selfishness and unethical behavior. Bill Gates is a good person now and I applaud him. But when running Microsoft he engaged in a lot of unfair business practices. He used to be a bad person and a lot of the money he earned was undeserved.

Every time someone mentions greed in this this type of conversation I’m reminded of this famous interview. This is just a snippet of the entire show, but it is a classic. “Just tell me where in the world you are going to find these angels…”

You set up a system that glorifies and rewards greed while vilifying any kind that looks toward the betterment of society as a whole and then wonder why everyone seems to be so greedy and self-centered?

@bkcunningham Confirmation bias can indeed work both ways, but there is such a thing as fact. The fact is that, for the most part, those saying @josie‘s premise is flawed are right. It is. The facts do not support his assertion. To follow on the heels of people observing that false premise and make an unsubstantiated claim that anyone who disagrees with the false premise proves in doing so that it is accurate is only possible through confirmation bias.

I have no doubt you can cherry pick a crowd of left-wing protesters and find someone vilifying the rich. You can also cherry pick a crowd of Tea Party protesters and find inane sentiments like “Keep your government hands off my medicare.” That’s far form an indictment of the core beliefs of either movement.

But when the OP states, “When the political left vilifies ” the rich” why don’t they make exceptions for “the rich” people who behave according to their standards?” that implies that all of the left vilify the rich, and that simply is not so. If you believe it is so, the burden of proof is on you. Prove it.

I understand @ETpro. So, when you asked this question, it was an example of confirmation bias? Or because you used “so many” it excludes it from the definition of confirmation bias?

In order for some to actually answer the question and not say they can’t because it shows confirmation bias, @josie could have asked, “When so many of the political left vilifies ” the rich” why don’t they make exceptions for ‘the rich’ people who behave according to their standards?”

@bkcunningham There is a science called demographics. Most Muslims are not pushing their fellow Muslims to convert to Judaism. That’s a fact, not confirmation bias on the part of the person asserting it. I am intimately aware of what the left vilifies, and I say @Josie’s premise that they vilify the rich is mostly wrong. To be sure, some do. Some Tea Partiers vilify all non-white races. But the outliers do not speak for the mainstream. If you really want to prove I have a blind spot on this, don’t just trot our unsubstantiated assertions. prove that most on the left do vilify the rich. If you can do that, I will change my tune.

I consider myself rich, I’m definitely leftish (even from a European point of view) and don’t hate myself.

Being right wing and of a clear mind doesn’t rhime too well with ethics, fear.
However, from that point of view, I would’t vilify the rich. I woudn’t vilify anyone. The right wing people do that to themselves I feel. Irony is, they are often not rich, just right wing.

I think the premise for the question is shaky, because it’s not being wealthy by itself that causes criticism but how they become rich and the tactics they use in trying to lobby our rights away. Maybe I should ask my own question here: Why does the right always villify people who are hurting through no/little fault of their own? Tom Corbett’s comments about unemployed workers (shortly after I’d lost my own job) come to mind.