How special do people think they are, anyway?

I think mocking poverty and flaunting wealth, which is already rampant, are essentially two sides of the same coin. Both stem from ranking humans and mistaking pure luck for personal effort or laziness. Korea is especially bad at this. Other countries have it too, but the degree feels different. I think it ultimately boils down to how we're raised at home and in school.

A friend's younger sister is married to a German guy, and they're raising a daughter. When the kid asked for a princess toy, the German husband apparently refused point-blank, saying, 'You're not a princess,' and scolded her to snap out of it. The sister was venting about how he crushed the kid's dreams.

It might sound cold, but I think that's a natural attitude in that society. They're clearly teaching from a young age that you aren't special and you aren't above anyone else.

This reminds me of the 'Law of Jante' taught in Nordic countries, and I think similar sentiments exist in Germany and France too. A culture of not flaunting wealth, not exaggerating success, and not placing yourself above society. I personally like this attitude and wish our society would head that way.

On the other hand, our society has been exposed to a culture of flexing wealth and making fun of poverty since we were kids. From elementary school days when we first get a sense of society, to entering organizations as adults, I've seen family wealth being worshipped way too much. People say civic consciousness has improved, but I don't feel like we've made any progress here. Honestly, looking at kids these days, I don't think they'll be any better than the current middle-aged generation.

What's so great about having a lot of money? Behavioral economics explains that both wealth and poverty are heavily influenced by luck. I read about this in reporter Lee Wan-bae's 'Harmony' and found it quite persuasive.

Some people say 'luck is also a skill.' But if you push that logic to the limit, the difference between being born human versus being born as a bug that humans hate also becomes a matter of luck and skill. Being born to rich parents vs. poor parents and living a similar life trajectory is also heavily dictated by luck.

How special can a human really be? We were just born a bit earlier or placed in different environments. In the end, we're all just the same humans.