There’s this recurring perception that poor people are automatically happier than rich people and that is completely false. Having a lack of money doesn’t necessarily equate into having a better life.
It’s just that everyone has something that they are unsatisfied about. Regardless of how great one’s life is, there will always be problems. And because of that, people often think that being rich automatically creates more problems, it doesn’t. Being rich just means that one has different problems than someone who is poor.
Being rich might mean one has to worry about prenups and court proceedings about unfair distribution of inheritance. Being poor might mean having to worry about being able to afford an education (or higher education) and budgeting so that one doesn’t run out of money to afford necessities. Poor people don’t have to worry about prenups and inheritance because they never had that money to begin with but it doesn’t automatically mean they have happier families. It just means that there are different problems.
Coming from a low socioeconomic background puts one at a disadvantage and makes it harder for them to raise their standard of living. If your parents can’t afford to send you to university or hire tutors for you, you are much less likely to reach your full potential and raise your standard of living. It is insulting to continually hear people talk about how poor people are so much happier than rich people like it’s some sort of miracle cure. It is not a complement, it just comes across as a cheap justification and does nothing for the wider social issue (that there are many who cannot or struggle to afford basic necessities that others take for granted).
It’s even worse when people start talking about how happy the people are in third world countries. What I think that many people fail to realise is that 1, not everyone is poor in third world countries and 2, being poor in a third world country means not having access to clean water or healthcare or education. In third world countries, there is often a huge disproportion in the distribution of wealth. There are people who can afford to spend millions on jewellery and would have no trouble getting gold plated toilet seats while others can barely afford to feed their families.
Where I grew up, back in Bangladesh, there were entire families that lived in one bedroom because that was all they could afford. We had maids and servants, not because we were rich but because some of our neighbours standard of living was so low that they would do work for literal pennies. My mother used to feed people and allow them to take water from our taps. That was enough for them to fall over themselves in order to help her.
Do you think they were happy about that?
No.
Yes, even the poorest of people have things that make them happy but being poor isn’t what’s making them happy, it’s in fact causing them to be less happy. However they can still find moments of happiness because humans are just like that, we will find a light in the darkest places.
People look at villages where everyone helps out and it’s a community and they idealise that. What they don’t realise is that there is a much higher mortality rate and a much lower life expectancy in those towns. Not only are they far away from professional medical care but they often cannot afford simple services without selling family heirlooms and borrowing money from their neighbours. In these villages that are idealised, the standard of living is much lower and people often cannot raise themselves up because they don’t have access to higher education. And let’s even talk about the high infant mortality rate. If you ever wonder why they have so many kids, it’s because 1, limited access to contraception and 2, there’s a much higher chance that their children will die before reaching adulthood.
By spreading the belief that they are happier than those who do have access to basic necessities or are rich, you do them no favours. You are much better off highlighting their struggle because then they might have at least some opportunity to raise their standard of living.
Being poor isn’t a cure. It’s a disadvantage. And it most certainly doesn’t mean that they have stronger communities or healthier families. It just means that their dysfunctionalities take a different form.
It hurts my soul when people praise being poor. It shows they’ve probably never had friends who were hungry or starving. (My mum had to feed many of my friends).
Off course, I did have friends who were rich and neighbours who were well off and looked down on me and my mother for associating with the poor people. And I went to a private school cause public schools in areas like that were trash (because they don’t have funding and so don’t have the necessary equipment).
Being poor is not a good thing. It doesn’t automatically make someone happier. It’s a disadvantage and one we need to fix, not promote.
The reason why rich people have problems is not because they have money, it’s because everyone has problems. It just happens that sometimes their problems arise from money. They are not automatically unhappier.
If you want to improve the lives of people who come from poverty then highlight their struggles so that people will start caring and more funding will be allocated to these communities. These people are not lazy. They are not stupid. They simply don’t have the resources to improve their standard of living.
