World News

A lot of people probably already knew this, but it's useful to have studies like this to shove in the face of the "pull yourself up by your own bootstraps" crowd. It's frustrating because we can change this, we don't have to accept a society that simply revolves around "Whoever makes the most money gets to make the rules".

I, personally, would like a society that cherishes camaraderie and compassion while also rewarding innovation and talent. There are too many people who believe in this zero-sum game that seems to pit everyone against everyone in this race to gather the most wealth; this is why we're all struggling, because rich people have gathered the most wealth, and they are trying to protect it at all costs by using the wealth to control the rules that control how they gained the wealth to begin with. It's all awful and we need to change it now.

I find these types of studies very important, because things don't have to be this way. People are people regardless of class, race, gender, etc. Inequalities between these different groups are entirely social and constructed, and a natural result of our in-group out-group thinking and time causing resources to congregate one way or another.

It makes sense that things are this way right now, but as we learn more and build our systems things don't need to and shouldn't stay this way. The issue is that for the people who currently control resources and wield power this feels like 'coming for them' or taking what they've earned, but they don't actually have any right to these resources any more than the rest of us do- They're just people. We are a huge, complex system that should be maintained for the benefit of all, not the benefit of the few.

I'm pretty convinced economic inequality it's made by a few people with a lot of money who don't want anyone else to have more money.

I feel like the system it's made for the poor to keep being poor all their lifetime.

this just in from The Bureau of Obvious Research

So youre telling me we live in a finite society whose collective performance is dictated not by individuals "pulling themselves up by the bootstraps" but by the very economy created by the community? And poor people arent all evil savants and rich people too? No, my good decisions mean I'M a better person than my neighbors! MY selfishness is the problem then? No! They should just get a better job! Ad infinitum the human condition.

open access journal link: The persistence of cognitive biases in financial decisions across economic groups | Scientific Reports