Introduction
Few concepts are perceived form such polarizing perspectives as affluence. The essay in question speculates that being rich as a tremendous privilege that is expected to be sacrificed for the benefit of those less fortunate conflicts with the intrinsic need for maintaining one’s social status and access to multiple resources. The author explains that, since giving up wealth in a gesture of altruism is usually lauded as ethical, while the current social and cultural environment prioritizes materialism, a clash of public expectations and personal needs occurs. As a result, being affluent immediately results in being branded as immoral. In order to address the specified issue, accepting the inevitability of a gap in earnings within a community while promoting responsible use of resources and active support of marginalized communities is necessary.
Main body
The notion of wealth redistribution mentioned in the essay as a possible solution to the current controversy seems sensible at first. However, after considering its implications, one will have to agree that the proposed strategy will not work due to the lack of internal change that it will produce. Namely, people from poor backgrounds will not receive the resources needed for independence in their economic and business performance since the redistribution of wealth will not imply the transfer of skills in financial management to the impoverished. Thus, the question of merit when it comes to evaluating one’s wealth status is raised: “Regardless of whether you have earned it, to what degree are you morally permitted to retain it?” (Smith, 2017, para. 7). Thus, the idea that affluence should be earned based on one’s personal qualities is suggested.
Conclusion
In conclusion, though ensuring global well-being without exception is an alluring idea, it is most likely to lead to a failure due to the differences in attitudes, skills, and opportunities that individuals have within local communities, let alone the global environment. Thus, a responsible management of the global capital with the focus on supporting those in need while encouraging the development of marginalized communities should be seen as a likely solution.
In turn, expecting that people of significant affluence should give up their wealth to support the impoverished would imply promoting additional injustice since a large number of rich people have gained their status due to their efforts and persistence. For this reason, focusing on creating equal opportunities will be required as opposed to using simplistic strategies such as redistribution of wealth.
Reference
Smith, A. Q. (2014). It’s basically just immoral to be rich. Current Affairs. Web.