The Predicament of the Newly Rich

They are the object of thinly disguised envy. They are the raw materials of vulgar jokes and the targets of popular aggression. They are the Newly Rich. Perhaps they should be dealt with more appropriately within the academic discipline of psychology, but then economics in a branch of psychology. To many, they represent a psychopathology or a sociopathology.

The Newly Rich are not a new phenomenon. Every generation has them. They are the upstarts, those who seek to undermine the existing elite, to replace it and, ultimately to join it. Indeed, the Newly Rich can be classified in accordance with their relations with the well-entrenched Old Rich. Every society has its veteran, venerable and aristocratic social classes. In most cases, there was a strong correlation between wealth and social standing. Until the beginning of this century, only property owners could vote and thus participate in the political process. The land gentry secured military and political positions for its off spring, no matter how ill equipped they were to deal with the responsibilities thrust upon them. The privileged access and the insiders mentality ("old boys network" to use a famous British expression) made sure that economic benefits were not spread evenly. This skewed distribution, in turn, served to perpetuate the advantages of the ruling classes.

Only when wealth was detached from the land, was this solidarity broken. Land ? being a scarce, non-reproducible resource ? fostered a scarce, non-reproducible social elite. Money, on the other hand, could be multiplied, replicated, redistributed, reshuffled, made and lost. It was democratic in the truest sense of a word, otherwise worn thin. With meritocracy in the ascendance, aristocracy was in descent. People made money because they were clever, daring, fortunate, visionary ? but not because they were born to the right family or married into one. Money, the greatest of social equalizers, wedded the old elite. Blood mixed and social classes were thus blurred. The aristocracy of capital (and, later, of entrepreneurship) ? to which anyone with the right qualifications could belong ? trounced the aristocracy of blood and heritage. For some, this was a sad moment. For others, a triumphant one.

The New Rich chose one of three paths: subversion, revolution and emulation. All three modes of reaction were the results of envy, a sense of inferiority and rage at being discriminated against and humiliated.

Some New Rich chose to undermine the existing order. This was perceived by them to be an inevitable, gradual, slow and "historically sanctioned" process. The transfer of wealth (and the power associated with it) from one elite to another constituted the subversive element. The ideological shift (to meritocracy and democracy or to mass- democracy as y Gasset would have put it) served to justify the historical process and put it in context. The successes of the new elite, as a class, and of its members, individually, served to prove the "justice" behind the tectonic shift. Social institutions and mores were adapted to reflect the preferences, inclinations, values, goals and worldview of the new elite. This approach ? infinitesimal, graduated, cautious, all accommodating but also inexorable and all pervasive ? characterizes Capitalism. The Capitalist Religion, with its temples (shopping malls and banks), clergy (bankers, financiers, bureaucrats) and rituals ? was created by the New Rich. It had multiple aims: to bestow some divine or historic importance and meaning upon processes which might have otherwise been perceived as chaotic or threatening. To serve as an ideology in the Althusserian sense (hiding the discordant, the disagreeable and the ugly while accentuating the concordant, conformist and appealing). To provide a historical process framework, to prevent feelings of aimlessness and vacuity, to motivate its adherents and to perpetuate itself and so on.

The second type of New Rich (also known as "Nomenclature" in certain regions of the world) chose to violently and irreversibly uproot and then eradicate the old elite. This was usually done by use of brute force coated with a thin layer of incongruent ideology. The aim was to immediately inherit the wealth and power accumulated by generations of elitist rule. There was a declared intention of an egalitarian redistribution of wealth and assets. But reality was different: a small group ? the new elite ? scooped up most of the spoils. It amounted to a surgical replacement of one hermetic elite by another. Nothing changed, just the personal identities. A curious dichotomy has formed between the part of the ideology, which dealt with the historical process ? and the other part, which elucidated the methods to be employed to facilitate the transfer of wealth and its redistribution. While the first was deterministic, long-term and irreversible (and, therefore, not very pragmatic) ? the second was an almost undisguised recipe for pillage and looting of other people' property. Communism and the Eastern European (and, to a lesser extent, the Central European) versions of Socialism suffered from this inherent poisonous seed of deceit. So did Fascism. It is no wonder that these two sister ideologies fought it out in the first half of the twentieth century. Both prescribed the unabashed, unmitigated, unrestrained, forced transfer of wealth from one elite to another. The proletariat enjoyed almost none of the loot.

The third way was that of emulation. The Newly Rich, who chose to adopt it, tried to assimilate the worldview, the values and the behaviour patterns of their predecessors. They walked the same, talked the same, clad themselves in the same fashion, bought the same status symbols, ate the same food. In general, they looked as pale imitations of the real thing. In the process, they became more catholic than the Pope, more Old Rich than the Old Rich. They exaggerated gestures and mannerisms, they transformed refined and delicate art to kitsch, their speech became hyperbole, their social associations dictated by ridiculously rigid codes of propriety and conduct. As in similar psychological situations, patricide and matricide followed. The Newly Rich rebelled against what they perceived to be the tyranny of a dying class. They butchered their objects of emulation ? sometimes, physically. Realizing their inability to be what they always aspired to be, the Newly Rich switched from frustration and permanent humiliation to aggression, violence and abuse. These new converts turned against the founders of their newly found religion with the rage and conviction reserved to true but disappointed believers.

Regardless of the method of inheritance adopted by the New Rich, all of them share some common characteristics. Psychologists know that money is a love substitute. People accumulate it as a way to compensate themselves for past hurts and deficiencies. They attach great emotional significance to the amount and availability of their money. They regress: they play with toys (fancy cars, watches, laptops). They fight over property, territory and privileges in a Jungian archetypal manner. Perhaps this is the most important lesson of all: the New Rich are children, aspiring to become adults. Having been deprived of love and possessions in their childhood ? they turn to money and to what it can buy as a (albeit poor because never fulfilling) substitute. And as children are ? they can be cruel, insensitive, unable to delay the satisfaction of their urges and desires. In many countries (the emerging markets) they are the only capitalists to be found. There, they spun off a malignant, pathological, form of crony capitalism. As time passes, these immature New Rich will become tomorrow's Old Rich and a new class will emerge, the New Rich of the future. This is the only hope ? however inadequate and meagre ? that developing countries have.

About The Author

Sam Vaknin is the author of "Malignant Self Love - Narcissism Revisited" and "After the Rain - How the West Lost the East". He is a columnist in "Central Europe Review", United Press International (UPI) and ebookweb.org and the editor of mental health and Central East Europe categories in The Open Directory, Suite101 and searcheurope.com. Until recently, he served as the Economic Advisor to the Government of Macedonia.

His web site: http://samvak.tripod.com

---

The 11 Best Money Saving Ideas of All Time - Part 4

At any time in history, no matter what the current... Read More

Investing is About Discipline

If you don't have discipline then walk away from the... Read More

The Hawk and the Mouse - Saving for Retirement

There once was a hawk, ferocious and swift. He was... Read More

Simple Tips on Saving

Simple tips on saving can very often make quite a... Read More

Wealth Secrets: Saving Your Way to a Fortune

SCENE 1: Pharaoh has just woken up from a very... Read More

The Wealthy Mindset

What is the difference between wealthy people and poor (even... Read More

Building Wealth: A Wealth Building Strategy Is More Than Simply Diversifying Your Investments

Wealth - an abundance of values. Each of us determines... Read More

Online Retirement Opportunity: Freelance Copywriting

For most of us, the idea of retiring simply on... Read More

How to Save Money and Take the Vacation You Always Wanted

Many people don't realize how much money they spend on... Read More

What Do You Mean By Diversity?

The word 'diversity' is a unique one. It can represent... Read More

It Adds Up

Loose change that is, if you want a easy way... Read More

The 11 Best Money Saving Ideas of All Time - Part 3

At any time in history, no matter what the current... Read More

Uncle Sams Snake Oild

Uncle Sam and his band of merry-men, better known as... Read More

Offshore Strategies & Services

Offshore strategies may or may not be right for you.... Read More

The Top 10 Steps to Extraordinary Personal Wealth

I recently came across startling figures about the average American's... Read More

Financial Intelligence - Natural Marketing For Lone Rangers

"Ooooooh," you may say, "I could NEVER be good at... Read More

The Top 10 Steps to Becoming a Millionaire

There is perhaps no more important decision than to take... Read More

A Completely New Way To Get Rich Rapidly

This new way is catching on around the world. People... Read More

Business Ownership, Cash in Your Pocket - Today!

Yesterday we learned that 74% of all wealth is created... Read More

How to Save Money for Retirement

Saving money for retirement can be easy or difficult depending... Read More

Get Rich Slowly

Is it hard to get rich? If you're young, not... Read More

Wealth Creation and Mortgage Planning - Two Great Tastes that Taste Great Together

What if I were to tell you that almost everything... Read More

What Are Your Beliefs About Money and Wealth?

What is your attitude towards having wealth? Do you believe... Read More

Top 10 Secrets of Getting Rich!

As many people have observed, "Success leaves clues." If you... Read More

Methods Of Raising Instant Cash

The inability to come up with the necessary cash when... Read More

Learn To Budget

Do you like so many others feel, that even if... Read More

A New Economic Policy

Anyone knows that material wealth is measured in goods: apples,... Read More

Trustees: Who Can You Trust?

Early in my legal career I represented two young women... Read More

Simple Strategies to Making Financial Gain

Now is a great time to make it a habit... Read More

Wealth And Your Net Worth

Most people know it's important to keep and organize all... Read More

What is Your Creative Retirement Plan?

The idle are a peculiar kind of dead that cannot... Read More

Start A Cashflow Club

The cashflow board games, Cashflow 101, Cashflow 202, and Cashflow... Read More

Have You Ever Had That Feeling?

Have you ever had that feeling where you could not... Read More