Why we hate them - Part 2
Did you know that if you have a pot of crabs and one tries to escape over the side that the other crabs in the pot will try to drag it down again? I didn't know this until yesterday when I found the following article about Crab mentality on Wikipedia.
I honestly thought this behavior was only to be found in humans or more specifically Scandinavians. It is better known here in Norway as Janteloven. In short, you aren't supposed to think you are or try to be better than anyone else. The law is so ingrained into people here in Norway that it is perfectly acceptable that people that have done well in life are frowned upon and considered greedy and vulgar. Even members high up in the government find nothing wrong with making statements that they are out "to get" the rich people. There are whole political parties here that seem devoted to the cause of making sure nobody does well or is allowed to enjoy the fruits of their hard work. Just like kids they are basically saying: "It is unfair that anyone has more than me. I want some too. If I don't get some, they shouldn't have anything either!"
In the blog entry I wrote long time ago a little kid got awarded for helping his grandma. His brother that hadn't done the same demanded that he would also get awarded. I think most people would simply think he was a brat and didn't deserve anything. Why we don't apply the same logic to grown-ups is just mind boggling to me.
Now lets look at this from a different angle. How many people reading this would say no if their boss came in one day and said "I think you have been doing a fantastic job and I want to double your salary"? How many in here would say no to an inheritance if they found out their eccentric grandfather was actually a millionaire? I for sure wouldn't say no :) . But if we ourselves wouldn't say no to being rich (as long as it didn't require anything illegal or unethical) how can we not let others enjoy the fruit of their hard work or luck? Might I dare to suggest we are simply jealous? Of course we all believe that if we were rich that we would do more for others that need help than the rich people today do. In reality we would probably not be any better.
I believe that everyone should contribute to society and that the ones of us that are better off then the rest should contribute a bit more towards helping people that are unable to work themselves. I however also believe that people should be given an incentive to work hard and create businesses which in hand will create jobs, income, and again tax. Success shouldn't be looked upon as a disease. The politicians would be better off trying to create a fairer tax system instead of driving a witch hunt in the media and encouraging jealousy in people. Another important task for them is to ensure there is no corruption in the system. You should never be able to buy power with money.
So why am I writing this? Because I know I would like to be rich one day. I haven't quite figured out yet how to accomplish that but that is another story. Keeping this in mind, I realize that it would be hypocratic of me to not want other to have what I want myself. Sure I am jealous just like anyone else but why not just admit that? Isn't about time to put the Jante law to rest?
To wrap up I want to quote Benjamin Franklin Fairless, president of United States Steel Corporation in 1950. "You cannot strengthen one by weakening another; and you cannot add to the stature of a dwarf by cutting off the leg of a giant.
The Jante Law
I think you have misread it :-) The Jante Law (as it's called in English)
The laws are:
1. Thou shalt not believe thou art something.
2. Thou shalt not believe thou art as good as we.
3. Thou shalt not believe thou art more wise as we.
4. Thou shalt not fancy thyself better than we.
5. Thou shalt not believe thou knowest more than we.
6. Thou shalt not believe thou art greater than we.
7. Thou shalt not believe thou amountest to anything.
8. Thou shalt not laugh at us.
9. Thou shalt not believe that anyone is concerned with thee.
10. Thou shalt not believe thou canst teach us anything.
So it's not about being rich, but a rich person should not think he/she is "something" just because they are rich. A smart person shouldn't think he/she is "something" because they are smart.
I think it has to do more about humility of your own position in the world, and how you should behave towards others. I sort of agree on it, :-) because if we didn't have this things we would live in such a different social environment up in Scandinavia.
The whole point of the Jante Law is that you shouldn't think that you are better then anyone else just because you are rich, not that you can't be rich.
No great riches without poverty
Norway is one of the greatest places I've visited, and in large part it's because of this social glue that keeps everybody in the middle.
I suggest you spend a few years in another part of the world. Many countries have a very uneven distribution of wealth. In some cultures, greed is not really frowned upon. Wherever you see the unabashed showing-off of wealth and luxury, the misery of the poor is not far behind. Compare and contrast:
http://www.mydigitallife.info/2007/05/25/futuristic-rotating-tower-skyscraper-in-dubai/
http://yaleglobal.yale.edu/display.article?id=5992
I earn 30 times more than most of the construction guys working outside in this hellish 40 deg weather. Does that seem reasonable? Maybe in some economics argument it does, but not among human beings.
Getting ready to fly back to Dubai from Oslo, I needed to have my pants dry-cleaned because of the dress-code for business-class staff tickets. Well, the dry-cleaning cost me more than my pants were worth! The lady told me there are huge government taxes on dry-cleaning because it uses toxic chemicals.
So - you want to look fancier than everyone else, you want to pollute our air just to wash your pants? You'll have to pay! That's when I fell in love with Norway.
Better life for everyone
Don't get me wrong, I love Norway too and the fact that we don't really have real poverty here and that everyone is semi equal. It is a very comfortable feeling that if you loose your job or if something happens to you that you will be taken care of. It is a great thing that health care is practically free, that the old people are taken care of, and that everyone has an equal chance of school. We are very unfortunate compared to the rest of the world and I definitely want to keep all of that!
This however requires that everyone of working age and that are able to work should work and preferrably try to do their best. I don't feel that this is being encouraged today and I fear that we will loose the good system.
I am all for improving things. The case you mentinoned about paying more because you pollute the air is a great example of something I am all for. Things that we don't really need and in addition pollute should be taxed heavily. I don't feel I should be preaching about making basic things that pollute more expensive since I can probably afford it but there are other less fortunate people that it might hit much harder. In those cases we should concentrate on finding more environmentally friendly solutions first. But yes, this is where I believe the rich should be "hit". Taxing luxuary heavily and putting down the tax on items that are necessity to most people.
What I don't believe in is the witch hunt on successful people that you sometimes see here in the media and that seems to get people into a frenzy demanding luxuary without being willing to lift a finger to get it. The focus should be on giving everyone an equal opportunity for a good basis in life (education), making sure that everyone receives fair pay for their work (decent minimum wage), that you are taken care of if you need help (illness, disability, old age, and temporarily if you loose your job), and that there is no way that rich people can utilize their money to buy power or exemption from the law. I know it isn't really "that" simple but I hope you get where I am trying to go with my quickly scribbled down thoughts.
We need a carrot... or I at least do
You are right that they don't say that you cannot be rich but the feeling I get living here in Norway is that they have been stretched into meaning that (maybe I am wrong). These were written down 75 years ago and have by now been ingrained/stretched into everything. You aren't supposed to think you are anything more than anyone else... and people feel that if someone builds themselve a nice cottage they are saying exactly that. Or a nice house, nice car, nice boat whatever... I feel like someone is complaining everyday over something.
It is a nice philosophy to live by. One should never really believe that they are better than other people but one has to believe that they can become better by trying to improve themselves. Why would one try otherwise?
Why try harder.
Firstly i will just say i agree completely.
Anything this is not something i have expirenced first hand, i tend to avoid the "Norwegian Media Machine" as much as i can, so its hard to get a grasp of the 'witchhunts' and such that you've mentioned.
In my opinion i think this is worse in Norway than it is in other countries because like you say there is no real poverty here. The social demographic is split between the rich and the rest. Its easy for people/governments/companies to go after the rich because the rest aren't effected. But a culture which alienates the rich and offers very little benefit from being part of the rest is never really going to stop people wanting more. In a country like Norway where having money isnt a necessity to get important things like healthcare just means its more money to spend on lifestyle.
It is however something i can clearly see the effects of. There is a "why try harder" mentality where people are content to stay as they are. Norway is a great place with amazing social benefits but with nothing to drive people forward How long can this last? Not forever. This is in part due to the amazing social benefits, in the US you see people holding down 2 jobs just to be able to afford their healthcare bills or other necessities. Now of course this isn't better, but when people are given stuff for free they aren't working to get it.
The bottom line is that there are always going to be people who put a lot of effort into everything they do, and there are always going to be people who expect to get the same benefits for very little effort. But these people are the minorities, the majority of people will work at a level dictacted by the carrot. Its not a countries place to to inspire people to work harder and better, its a companies place. If a company you work for doesn't give enough incentive to work harder then, why should you?
Now on to the real point in hand, Something for nothing. Yes i agree in theory that everybody should have to contribute to a society to be able to benefit from society. I don't think any country can boast this though. Yes, some people are unable to work and they should be taken care of but also some people decide to have 5 kids and then sit around while the government pays their life. I'd rather belong to a country which takes care of everyone than a country who abandons people when they don't work. Always.
I personally don't have anything against rich people, certainly nothing against the people who got there by working hard, or just generally being smarter than myself. I don't even have anything against the people who are rich and don't deserve it. I'm not an overly jealous person when it comes to money. Of course rich people should contribute more to society, they can afford to more easily. Like some of the other comments, luxury taxes
Anyway, i find it funny you say you want to be rich someday. No, i'm not trying to claim i would turn down either of the scenarios you mentioned in your post. But i don't really want to be rich, i would be a awful rich person, wasting my money on extravigant expenses when i could be helping others. As long as i am "comfortable", never have to worry about where the money is coming from to pay for my next meal or mortgage repayment etc I will be happy.
I'm rambling, but in my opinion you touched on way more than just having "it in for the rich" and "social benefits for the lazy"... You know me, i have to weigh in.
My opinion on Janteloven? We are all born equal, its what we do from then on which divides us
We are our actions
Your closing statement really says it all! This is the Janteloven we should be aiming at. Ok, maybe not just that we are born equal but that we are all get the same tools as kids while we cannot really yet fend for ourselves. Then at some point we become grown-ups and our actions start to count. My heading is brewing another blog entry about this. Stay tuned, it might show up in few months... :)
I agree that it is better to live in a country where everyone is taken care of. There should however always be a carrot to try to get you to work if you can. That pretty much narrows down to only giving people enough money from the government to get by and not to live nicely and take fancy vacations. For people with disability I would love to see them have a nice life with fancy vacations. I am however not nice enough to be able to say the same about the drug addict down the corner. I think he should only get the minimum money he needs to survive and an offer for proper treatment.
Another thing you mentioned that it should be the company's responsibility to encourage people. That is true but the government also needs to make it possible to be able to do that. The Norwegian is tax system is very complicated and it is often hard for companies to provide any kind of monetary incentives to work hard as it quickly gets very expensive both for them and the receiver. It isn't only us that are taxed but the company also needs to pay tax of the salary they give us. So the final result to the worker is very small compared to the money they have to shell out. The policy of trying to hold down people seems to be everywhere.
Are you sure you wouldn't want to be rich? I am not taking crazy rich but rich enough to go on your dream vacation, buy your dream gadget, go out and eat when you want, and maybe do something for the people around you (or poor people far away)? After having very strained economy for many years I am finally enjoying being able not to worry whether I will be able to pay my bills next month. It is a wonderful feeling but I am greedy and I want more :) .
Anyways, I will stop rambling now though I am tempted to continue :)