The Invisible Chain of the Upper Class
These days, we see headlines about a healthcare CEO being shot by a dissatisfied customer, a third-world country imposing exorbitant taxes despite having a low GDP, a well-known multi-million company evading taxes — and the list goes on.
What drives them to break every moral and ethical code just to oppress those beneath them? Is it greed? A hunger for power? Or have they simply lost their sanity? The upper class is boldly revealing their true colors, relentlessly exploiting the middle and lower classes as if they believe they’ll never face any consequences.
How long can this imbalance persist before something gives? History has taught us that no system of unchecked inequality can last forever. The French Revolution is but one of many examples throughout history where the oppressed stood united and brought the upper class to justice. Knowing this, a question lingers in my mind:
Are they not afraid?
Jean-Jacques Rousseau, a philosopher once said,
“The problem is not that the rich are too rich, but that the poor are too poor. The great man is no more than the poor man’s shadow.”
Before we dive deep into this huge complex of situation let's understand how the economy works first.
According to the American Economic Association, Economics can be defined in a few different ways. It’s the study of scarcity, the study of how people use resources and respond to incentives, or the study of decision-making. It often involves topics like wealth and finance, but it’s not all about money. Economics is a broad discipline that helps us understand historical trends, interpret today’s headlines, and make predictions about the coming years.
I can look up many journals about the economy, and let me tell you, it all comes down to how money flows around the world and how supply and demand impact prices. It’s pretty simple, right? Yet, I find myself wondering: If the world has enough resources to last us for many lifetimes, and if the birthrate is decreasing with fewer people every year, why do prices keep going up beyond reason?
Salary increments and inflation don’t seem to balance out, as over time, skyrocketing prices swallow people whole. This makes life increasingly difficult, especially for the middle and lower classes, while the upper class — along with their multi-million-dollar companies — posts record-breaking revenues year after year.
So, what is wrong with this vast, beautiful world we live in? Why is there such a huge gap between the rich and the poor? What is the core issue? Why is it that no matter how hard the middle class tries, they can never raise their status without the approval of those in the upper class?
There are many cases where billionaires buy up land in bulk and rent it out to locals, not to mention the growing interest we face whenever we need to borrow money from those who are born luckier than us.
To those people, I have one question.
Why?
It is not wrong to be rich, it is wrong to be rich at the expense of other people.
My message for the people who are being oppressed right now.
Wake up.
