Every generation has always had a group of
people who go from a lower socio-economic status to a higher level by obtaining
wealth and reproducing it. They are upstarts and are usually very determined to
join the existing elite.
In America, these people who have obtained
money recently are usually referred to as “nouveau riche.” According to Karl Marx, the new rich are “petty
bourgeois” with ambitions and aspirations to have the superior class’s
lifestyle. These newly arrived individuals lack a clear identity in the
division of classes.
The new rich go
out their way to show others how much money they have as a way of making up for
the things they were deprived from during their childhood. By working their way
up to gain social acceptance, they are constantly condemned also to adopt
global patterns of behaviors of the upper class such as exhibiting certain mannerisms,
buying expensive things, sending their kids to private schools and trying to fit in the exclusive social circles of
those who inherited their money. These new rich even force themselves to do
things that they were never interested in doing just for the sake to be
accepted by the “old money” class.
Because of money
does not buy happiness, the sudden wealth plague has been widely criticized and
ridiculed by members of the upper class society they so desperately want to
impress and be accepted by. The new rich
often exhibit a lack of taste and refinement.
As a result, they are unaware of how conspicuous and tacky their
behavior appears to others.
The new rich
constantly struggle to fit in but they are caught between going back to the
lifestyle they had before they made their money and trying to gain the social
acceptance of the upper class that often turn up their noses at them. This
social struggle rarely produces good results. The consequences of practicing
this social game often leads to unhappiness, insecurity and other major
psychological problems.
Since wealth does
not produce permanent happiness, it is best to look
inside yourself for what really is important to your life and what will provide
true happiness.
By: Yilva Kalmanson
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