Sunday 13 September 2020

A bigger slice

There's a lot of talk nowadays about people feeling "entitled", or feeling they have an automatic right to all sorts of things because - well, because they do. Such people are roundly condemned as arrogant elitists who just want to grab a bigger slice of the pie. The criticism is usually aimed at a certain type of person - well-off, privately educated, right-wing, pompous.

But hang on a minute, shouldn't we all feel entitled - to a decent life, a comfortable home, a worthwhile job, an adequate income, and physical safety? Isn't that the least we can expect as a country's citizens?

What people are really objecting to is not so much entitlement as greed - wanting more than your fair share of whatever's available. Wanting half a dozen houses, an enormous salary, a prestigious job, and the best of everything, from haute cuisine to limousines, private jets and luxury tailoring.

There's a lot wrong with being greedy, but nothing wrong with feeling entitled, if that simply means wanting an enjoyable life rather than a life of constant struggle and deprivation.

As for myself, I certainly feel privileged as my life has gone very well compared to the lives of many others. But I've never felt entitled in any sense. I've never felt greedy and I've never felt that anything should be handed to me. I hoped and expected to have a decent life but I never felt entitled to it. I assumed hard work, luck and sensible behaviour would get me the necessities of life so I wouldn't need any outside help. And by and large that's been the case.

But I quite like a bit of haute cuisine. Not to mention bon vin. I may not be entitled to them but I wouldn't like to be deprived of them.

30 comments:

  1. I don’t think of even billionaires as greedy people. If someone legally earns their money, they can spend it however they want. There are not a limited number of houses, cars, food or clothing in my country. My issue is with public figures in government who are taking advantage of the system and using tax payer dollars to live the sort of lifestyle you are talking about. I find that infuriating.

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    1. Bijoux: I do object to a situation where Jeff Bezos of Amazon is worth 184 billion dollars, while millions of others are struggling to survive on tiny welfare payments. But I totally agree about public figures milking the taxpayer. The British parliament is riddled with corruption of that sort.

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  2. I am quite convinced that I am entitled to what I have achieved and my son. entitled to what he inherits from me. I however do not flaunt my achievements nor do I permit my son to think that he can simply idle his life away because he can afford to. Where many wealthy people go wrong is in letting the latter happen to their children.

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    1. Ramana: You're quite right to stop your son idling his life away because his father is well-off. I think a lot of public figures actually feel the same as you and expect their children to earn their status in life.

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  3. I watched Capital on Netflix last night on Netflix and
    recommend it as to how this unfairness of wealth distribution all started. There has never been so much poverty in the world. Never has been so much owned by so few and we are heading towards a terrible fiscal cliff.

    XO
    WWW

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    1. www: We don't have Netflix, but of course income and wealth inequality has been around for centuries, ever since a greedy few decided to keep all their money and let the poor fend for themselves.

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  4. "But hang on a minute, shouldn't we all feel entitled - to a decent life, a comfortable home, a worthwhile job, an adequate income, and physical safety? Isn't that the least we can expect as a country's citizens?" Yes.

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    1. Colette: It's shocking how many people still don't have those basics, and every day is a battle to keep body and soul together.

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  5. What if it turned out you would have to give up your luxuries to provide for the poor? There’s no guarantee as the world population keeps growing that would never happen. Just a hypothetical question.

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    1. Jean: I don't think Jenny and I have any luxuries. Our possessions are pretty basic, we don't have any fancy gadgets or top-of-the-range stuff. In any case, I don't think it's up to modest households like ours (or yours) to provide for the poor. It's the obscenely rich like Mark Zuckerberg and the Walton family who should be handing over some of their billions.

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    2. Unfortunately with the economic fallout from the virus and other effects of population growth and climate change, things are bound to get a lot worse. :(

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    3. Nick, you're not splashy people but regular holidays, including trips abroad, restaurant meals, cheese, wine....all luxuries

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    4. Kylie: I don't agree. If cheese, wine, trips abroad and restaurant meals were luxuries, only the rich could afford them. Or they wouldn't be available at all.

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    5. Having been down to my last farthing a couple of years back, I agree with Kylie.
      I hear you, Kylie!! My last holiday was in 2015 - and it wasn't abroad. Luckily I don't like wine or restaurants - my splash out is Netflix, and a few subscription services - I'm aware that these are my luxuries and they would be immediately cut should I find myself back where I was.
      Sx

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    6. Ms Scarlet: I guess ultimately the definition of luxury depends on your personal circumstances. If you're a rough sleeper, a super-warm sleeping bag is a luxury. If you're a millionaire, space travel is a luxury. For Jenny and me, our guided tour of New Zealand was a luxury.

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  6. I've never been greedy or entitled. I live in a small apartment, in a bad neighborhood. But I'm content with what I have.

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    1. Mary: Indeed, you seem to be satisfied with what you have and don't aspire to some luxurious, flamboyant lifestyle.

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  7. My father was a skinflint who made sure I didn't feel entitled to anything. Perhaps that's part of what makes me so grateful for what I have now.

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    1. Linda: Very likely! That probably applies to me too. My father wasn't exactly a skinflint, but he did give the impression I wasn't entitled to very much in life.

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  8. I was lucky enough to grow up in a society which valued people, which understood that decent provision gave rise to a decent society. I would dearly like to see that state of things to return.
    I have done and do what I can, small scale. It might be pissing in the wind but I feel it's worth it to the small number of people affected.

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    1. Fly: Me too. When I grew up there was more of a collective responsibility, while now there's increasing polarisation and self-centredness.

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  9. I am sure I will be dead before entitled.

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    1. Joanne: I'm sure I'll be dead before I get anything like a luxury lifestyle!

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  10. I sometimes stand in awe listening to people claiming entitlement, and wonder where I went wrong. I was definitely trained in the camp of put-up, shut-up, and be grateful.
    Sx

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    1. Ms Scarlet: Me too. As a child I was expected to do what I was told and not "make a fuss". And yes, be grateful for all the things I enjoyed that the less fortunate were deprived of.

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  11. I feel that being "entitled" is really a total lack of respect for other people, their views, needs and opinions.

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    1. Jenny: Exactly. It's elitism pure and simple.

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    2. Entitlement and elitism are completely different. But maybe related

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  12. Being entitled isn't always a feeling some people are aware of having. Once we're born are we automatically entitled to anything? The bare minimum seems to be our parents or others should see that we have food/water, clothes, shelter to protect our life. Are we entitled to health care? What else? Maybe we aren't entitled to anything and should be grateful for what we may be given and choose to acquire on our own. Everything beyond basic needs could be considered a luxury. We soon determine many things beyond these basics are necessary in our lives so are we entitled to them? Ah, then we get into different issues having to do with surviving with other human beings. Little things like morality, ethics, distribution of wealth to name a few.

    I realize I’ve been entitled in numerous ways, some automatically given our culture and the existing social values I was born into. Other things I intend to feel entitled to due to my personal efforts. Then there are things to which i feel entitled that i don't have. Life gets complicated.


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    1. Joared: Certainly there's room for argument over what is a basic necessity we should all expect to have, and what is a luxury we may or may not acquire. I do think we all deserve the best possible tax-funded health care, given that we might get a severe unexpected illness and given that health care is so expensive (especially in the USA) it can easily bankrupt people.

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