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More on whether the rich are jerks

at 02:51 PM ET, 02/28/2012

Kevin Drum considers the study (covered here) suggesting the wealthy are bigger jerks than the non-wealthy:

High-status people can afford to take more risks (like breaking traffic laws); they engage in negotiations more routinely and therefore come to consider them mostly amoral exercises; and they’re accustomed to not being questioned — either because they’re surrounded by people who work for them or because they’re surrounded by people who want to sell them stuff. All of this is likely to make them more imperious, more demanding, and more likely to believe they won’t get caught if they cheat (and more likely to get off if they are caught). What’s more, the rich are certainly far more likely to get their way than the poor.

Tyler Cowen offers further words of caution.

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