China's Poor vs. America's Rich

Published in DW News
(China) on 6 May 2013
by Yi Ping (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Ann Kubusek. Edited by Bora Mici.
During the era of Chairman Mao in mainland China, the stark dichotomy of “good” people and “bad” people was simply a class distinction. The rich people fell into the bad category, and the poor people were always in the good category. I do not know how they educate children in mainland China today with regard to rich and poor, but according to my observations online, it seems as if the complex resentment toward the rich is still present.

When I attended university in China, I remember a comment my foreign teacher made during English class. He made a reference to how the poor people in the U.S. were quite lazy. To hear poor people being described as such at that point in my life was both novel and shocking. Nowadays, after living more than 20 years in the U.S., how has my attitude changed regarding America’s rich and poor?

Let’s begin with the rich. From what I have heard about rich people, I can separate them into several categories. The first category is the creators and founders of high-tech companies, such as Steve Jobs and Bill Gates. There are also the several young billionaires who started companies like Google and Facebook. These people relied on their own innovation and creativity to accumulate wealth. You could say they benefit other people, as well as themselves. Within this group of people, we have somebody like Bill Gates, who used his own fortune to create a public welfare enterprise to give back to society. He clearly is not a bad person, but quite the opposite; he is an amazing person. Although these people are part of the "1 percent," I bet even the Chinese would not say they are exploiting the poor.

What I know of the second category of wealthy Americans is that it consists of politicians. Take the Clintons or President Obama, for example. They use their talent and charm along with their passion for serving society and engaging in social services to become America’s leaders. I have a great amount of respect for them, and I do not hate them because of their wealth. More importantly, their wealth was not dependent on power and corruption.

The third type of rich people are sports and entertainment stars. They bring us entertainment. We could not possibly categorize them as bad people; otherwise we would not be willing to spend our own money on going to see them perform in movies or sporting events.

The fourth type of rich person is perhaps more related to the traditional idea of the wealthy person. He does not make any obvious contributions to society, other than making money, being famous and having a luxurious life. One example is the famous real estate tycoon Donald Trump. Although if you have ever seen his show “The Apprentice,” then you probably have discovered that not only is he a very capable person who has an overall sense of what is right and wrong, but that he also has intuitive knowledge and a sense of responsibility to society.

I have never been someone who particularly despises the rich, but I cannot say that the class education I received during my youth has not made any impressions on me, and my past has helped form my opinion on the traditional idea of the rich. After watching Trump’s television show, I finally realized that not every rich person is a bad person. They can even be good people. Especially in the U.S., good and capable people have the opportunity to become wealthy. Therefore, the rate of good people among the rich is higher.

But of course, in human society a perfect Communist society does not exist, and among America’s rich there are bad people. Consider some of the people on Wall Street, for example: They used loopholes in the system to accumulate their wealth. There were also some financial advisers who cheated other people out of their investments to fatten their own wallets.

I watched a documentary that introduced the descendants of wealthy families. One particular descendant talked about how his ancestors accumulated their wealth; he basically called them crooks. But then again, in the early 1920s, were not all the wealthy some sort of crook? While this young man’s comment was a little extreme, it holds true on some level.

During the rudimentary stages of the Western capitalist society, because there was not a lot of experience with capitalism and we did not fully understand our fellow men’s greed, the law was not very mature and society’s transparency did not match today's. There were many examples of bad rich people who accumulated wealth through unfair means — a lot more than there are today. The development of Western society has been a long, continuous learning process that has finally led to a fair and just society, relatively speaking.

Even though in the West today the system is far from perfect and still has a lot of room for needed change, I believe that most of the rich people in the West accumulated their wealth through their own ability, wisdom, diligence or bravery. Most among the rich and middle class are honest, desiring to do better and take social responsibility seriously. As for those “bad” rich people who look to the holes in the system to accumulate their wealth, while we are condemning their behavior, we should spend more energy on how to better the system and cover up the holes in order to prevent a similar case from happening again, not incite class hatred. A conniving society is consumed by the useless feelings of class hatred.

From this perspective, Western society is rather sensible and has done a better job understanding how to control and manage society. Take the Occupy Wall Street movement, for example. At the end, it was just a bunch of out-of-work people making noise; it did not lead to any social unrest. There were no politicians cheering on the protestors, using their movement to reach their own political agendas, and the media was not used to inciting social antagonism. A famous television host urged the Wall Street protestors to run for elected office and use the laws to change the system, rather than stand outside and protest; that is the only way you can really change the behavior on Wall Street.

Now let us speak of the poor. Are good poor people those who have been oppressed and treated unjustly, or are they just lazy people who are not diligent or striving for progress? Let us just imagine that Chairman Mao was reincarnated and came to the U.S., and he took all of the proletariat and exalted them to the most powerful leaders and then took all of the homeless and poor people on welfare and assigned them as CEOs of companies and to the job of directing municipal construction. Would not that be ridiculous?

Honestly speaking, under the current U.S. system, it is understandable if you are a first-generation, poor immigrant, but if you are the second or third generation that is still living off of welfare without any mental issues — a lot of homeless in the U.S. are so due to mental problems — then you are just lazy.

The U.S. is a country that supports diligence and advancement. It fosters a system that gives most people a fair starting point. The American system is still a very weak system. The people with the lowest salaries have to pay the least in taxes and conversely, the people with the highest salaries have to contribute the most to the society. On the other hand, the poor and their children receive the most help from the government. Becoming one of the "1 percent" in the U.S. is maybe not that easy, but as long as you are not too lazy and you do not have any major disabilities, then you will not have any problem not becoming poor.

In a normal society, not having money does not mean you are a good person and having money does not mean you are a bad person; a person’s moral character is not dependent on his class status. In Western society, this type of equality between people encourages good and diligence; under such an intelligently reasonable system, the rich and middle class are the good people who do the most for society, and the poor are the people who do not have the ability to help society. On the contrary, they are the ones who need society’s help the most. This may not be the most politically correct thing to say, but from the perspective of contributing to society, America’s rich and middle class have a higher rate of contribution than America’s poor. Most poor people cannot help themselves, let alone contribute to society.

During Chairman Mao’s era, good people and bad people were categorized according to their class. Any rich person was bad and would be beaten and sometimes executed; every poor person was looked upon as a powerful and advanced leader. Looking back on it now, it seems utterly ridiculous.

Of course, I am not saying that America’s poor are not good people or that, even if they are sick or lazy, rich people should not look after them. It does not matter if you are poor because of a lack of intelligence or mental issues or a question of willpower. Poor people will always be the weak part of society. They will never have the ability to change themselves. Looking at it from the perspective that all humans are inherently good, the strong help the weak, the fortunate help the unfortunate, and this makes society kinder and gives people a sense of security. It creates a fair world. The strong helping the weak is also a way of leading society; the strong are always the models of society.

Strong kindness can make people more willing to help others and can make more people feel socially responsible, thus leading to a virtuous cycle. From a practical perspective, the rich helping the poor can help avoid emotional conflicts. It can help keep the crime rate go down and, besides ensuring possession of wealth, it can also ensure safe and stable days. Furthermore, when there is a large middle class, opportunities for the rich and middle classes to make money will increase. The rich will take a portion of their own income to help serve society and help the poor — especially their sons and daughters — get out of poverty. This is a win-win situation for the rich and the poor. Therefore, looking after the interests of the poor is not only good for the poor but for the wealthy as well. It is good for all of society.

I would like to add that, while I support the rich, I am more opposed to another extreme: equalized wealth. For example, I support a system that taxes people more when they make more, but this higher percentage should be a moderate increase and nothing too extreme. If the taxing of the rich causes them to become less hard-working, have less business power and become people who support the lazy, then that is too extreme. Chairman Mao’s tactics could not have been more foolish. Stripping the rich people of all their wealth and then distributing it among the poor created a more unjust society. If we take the wealth accumulated by the dishonest means of cheating and corruption and divide it among the poor, then I can support that. If we take the wealth accumulated by means of intelligence, diligence and bravery, then spreading it among the poor is equal to supporting the lazy and foolish. It is equal to supporting the people who do not dare to innovate or take chances.

Therefore, equalized wealth is not fair; it is the exact opposite. Equalized wealth is another type of injustice. It is not practical because when a system supports the lazy and foolish, in the end, it undoubtedly will end up evil and destitute. China in Chairman Mao’s era was an example of this. North Korea is another contemporary living fossil of Chairman Mao’s era.


中国穷人VS美国富人
毛泽东时代的中国大陆,把好人坏人以阶级成分,以人的贫富来划分:富人一律是坏人,穷人则统统是好人。不知今天的中国大陆在这点上是如何教育孩子的,但据我从中文网。记得我在中国读大学时,上过一个美国外教的英语课,听他有一次在课堂上讲:美国的穷人大多是懒人。这种对穷人的描述,对当时的我来讲,既新鲜又震惊。如今我在美国生活了二十多年,今天的我又是如何看待美国的富人和穷人的呢?

先说富人。我所闻的美国富人,分为几类。一类是科技公司的创始人,像Steve Jobs, Bill Gates,还有创建Google和Facebook的那几个年轻大富翁,这些人靠自己的创造发明创造了财富,可以说是利人利己。他们当中有些人,比如Bill Gates,把自己的财富通过公益事业大量反馈给社会,显然不仅不是坏人,还是个大好人。虽然这些人属于美国的1%阶层,但我想,哪怕是中国人也不会把他们看成是剥削穷人的坏人。我知道的美国第二类富人,是美国的一些政治家,比如克林顿夫妇,当今总统奥巴马,他们以出色的个人才华和魅力,加上对社会事业的热情,投身于公共事业,成为美国社会的领导者,我对他们也敬佩有加,不会因为他们的财富跻身于1%而仇恨他们。重要的是,他们的财富不是依靠权力依靠贪腐得来的。第三类富人,是文娱体育明星,他们为我们带来娱乐,我们不可能视他们为坏人,否则我们怎么会自愿花钱去看他们的电影电视或比赛,为他们送去钱财?第四类富人,可能更接近于传统意义上的富人,他们对社会似乎没有什么明显的贡献,仅仅是以赚钱有道,生活奢华而闻名于世,比如美国房地产大亨川普(Trump)。不过,你如果看过川普的电视真人秀《The Apprentice》-You are fired!,就会发现,川普不仅是个大能人,他还是一个有正义感,有良知,对社会有责任心的人。我本来就不是一个特别仇富的人,但小时候的阶级教育毕竟留下一些痕迹,过去心里不知觉地对传统意义上的富人怀有稍许鄙意。看过川普的电视秀后,我终于明白,富人不仅不一定是坏人,甚至可能是好人,尤其在美国这样的制度下,好人能人更有机会发财致富,富人里好人的比例很高。


当然,人类社会不存在完美的共产主义世界,美国的富人里,一定有坏人,比如华尔街的某些人,利用制度的薄弱环节,为自己敛财;还有某些理财经纪人,以骗局骗取他人的投资填充自己的腰包。我看过一个介绍美国富家后代的纪录片,其中有一个富家后代谈起自己的祖父当年如何敛财时,称自己的祖父为crook(恶棍),并说,那个时代(二十世纪初)的富人难道不都多多少少是crooks?这个富家子弟的话也许有点过于偏激,但在某种程度上,也不无道理。西方资本主义社会发展的初期,因为没有资本主义经验,对人的贪婪本性认识不足,法律非常不健全,社会透明度也远不如今天,通过不公平手段获取财产的坏富人的比例,一定比今天高(不过估计还是比不过中国特色的资本主义)。西方社会的发展,也是一路边走边学边矫正,才走到今天,成为相对来讲比较公平公正的社会。

今天的西方,虽然制度还远不完美,还有需要改善的地方,但我相信,西方社会的大部分富人是通过自身的努力,以自己的才智,勤奋,或勇气,来获得财富的,大多数富人以及中产阶级是诚实,有上进心,有社会责任心的好人。至于对西方社会里那些以钻制度的空子来敛财的坏富人,我们在谴责他们行为的同时,应该把更多的精力放到如何改进制度上,堵上漏洞,以防止类似例子再次发生,而不是煽动阶级仇恨,纵容社会消耗在无用的仇富情感中。

这一点,西方的精英相对来讲比较明智,做得较好,懂得如何控制社会,如何管理社会。比如前一阵风靡美国的占领华尔街运动,最后也就是一些没事干的无业者闹闹,不会酿成社会动荡。没有政治家去助阵,以利用他们达到激进的目标,也没有媒介乘势煽动社会对立情绪。有名望的电视主持人大都劝说:占领华尔街不如去参加竞选,以政治参与来改变制度改变立法,这才是改变华尔街行为的有效之道。

再谈穷人。穷人到底是受压迫受不公平待遇的好人,还是不勤奋不求上进的懒人?想象一下,如果毛泽东转世来到美国,把美国的无产者捧为先进力量领导力量,把那些无家可归者,那些吃救济粮住救济房的穷人,安插到企业做党支部书记领导CEO,安插到社区做区委书记指导市政建设,那会是何等地荒唐可笑?说实话,在美国这样的制度下,如果第一代移民是穷人,情有可原;如果到了第二代第三代,还是一辈子靠救济的穷人,那不是智力或精神有问题(美国很多无家可归者是有mental problem的人),就是太懒。
美国是个鼓励勤奋,鼓励上进的国家,她的制度使得绝大多数人能有一个平等的起跑线。美国的制度还是一个扶弱的制度,收入越低需要交的税就越少,反过来,收入越高的人则对社会贡献越多,另外,穷人以及穷人子弟可以得到比别人更多的政府资助。在美国,要成为1%的富人也许不那么容易,但要不做让人怜悯要人救济的穷人,只要你不太懒,没有什么太大的天生缺陷,基本上就应该没问题。在正常社会里,没钱不等于是好人,有钱也不等于是坏人,人的好坏与阶级地位毫无关联。事实上,在西方社会这种人人平等,扬善抑恶,鼓励勤奋,鼓励智慧的合理制度下,富人以及中产阶级才是为社会做最大贡献的好人,而穷人往往是没有能力贡献社会,甚至需要社会帮助的有缺陷的人。说句也许政治不正确的话,从对社会做贡献的角度讲,美国富人里以及中产阶级里好人的比例,应该是高过穷人,穷人大多数连自己都不能自救,更不要说做一个关怀社会贡献社会的好人了。像中国的毛泽东时代那样,用阶级地位来划分好人坏人,凡是富人就一定是坏人,就要打倒甚至枪毙,凡是穷人就是先进力量领导力量,现在看来,实在让人觉得是一场极其荒诞的胡闹。

当然,我不是说,美国穷人不一定是好人,甚至很可能是病人懒人,富人就不应该关心穷人。穷不管是因为智力有问题造成的,还是因为精神或个人意志力有问题(懒惰)造成的,穷人总归是社会上的弱者,他们往往没有能力改变自己。从人性本善的角度来讲,强者帮助弱者,幸运者帮助不幸者,可以使社会更善良,使人更有安全感,更觉得世道公平;强者帮助弱者,也可以带动社会,因为强者往往是社会的榜样,强者的善良可以使更多的人乐于助人,更多的人富有社会责任感,从而促成社会风气的良性循环。从实用的角度讲,富人帮助穷人,可以帮助避免出现社会情绪对立,防止犯罪率上升,从而保证自己除了拥有财富,还能过上安全心稳的好日子。而且,社会上中产阶级的比例越高,富人以及中产阶级赚钱的机会也就越多,富人拿出自己的一部分所得,回馈社会,帮助穷人(尤其是穷人子弟)摆脱贫穷,常常可以带来富人穷人双赢。所以,关心穷人利益,不仅仅是为了穷人,也是为了富人,是为了全社会的人。


我想要补充说的是,虽然我支持富人更多地反馈社会,但我反对走向另一个极端-均富。比如,我支持收入越高,缴税比例越高的制度,但这个高应该是适度的,不能走过头。如果富人缴税比例过高到让人失去勤奋或创业的动力了,成了鼓励懒惰,那就走过头了。像毛泽东主张的那样-均富,更是愚蠢之至。剥夺富人的财产,均分给穷人,实际是创造了一种更大的不公平。除了通过贪腐,欺骗发财的富人,对那些通过智慧,勤奋,或冒险的勇气来获得财富的富人,如果将他们的财富均分给穷人,那就等于是鼓励愚蠢,懒惰,鼓励不敢创业不敢创新。所以均富不是公平,恰恰相反,均富是另一种不公平。均富也不实用,因为一个鼓励愚蠢和懒惰的体制,最后必定会变得既邪恶又贫瘠,毛泽东时代的中国正是如此,毛泽东时代的当代活化石-北韩也是如此
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