The article examines the concept of affluency, a psychological phenomenon affecting the rich and powerful. It highlights how affluency is driven by biases such as entitlement, social dominance orientation, and hubris. Individuals in powerful positions tend to feel exempt from laws and social norms, cultivating a sense of being superior to less privileged groups. The piece calls for self-awareness and humility as antidotes to this phenomenon, despite societal structures often reinforcing affluency and entitlement among the wealthy.
Rich and powerful people are prone to psychological biases that I label "affluency." These are evidence-based biases in social perception that lead to a sense of entitlement and a perception that the powerful individual is in many ways better than less powerful people.
As people become more powerful, there is a tendency to believe that social rules and laws don't apply to them. Ethicist Terry Price calls this "exception-making." The laws and rules simply don't apply to them.
Being rich and powerful, and a sense of separation from the 'lower classes,' may stimulate social dominance orientation, leading the affluent to a belief that they actually are better than others.
Many of the most powerful can get anything they want with the snap of their fingers. This leads to a sense of arrogance, or hubris.
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