Why do rich people lack empathy

Rich, Less Empathetic and Inconsiderate

Some years ago, I read an article from a professor of psychology at the University of California, Berkeley called Dacher Keltner.   According to the psychologist and social scientist, wealthy people are unlikely to be to bothered about those who are struggling to make ends meet.  ‘They are usually self-obsessed and only worried about their own well being’ Keltner said.  They are 'less empathetic, less altruistic and generally more selfish' as a result of having so much money.  He said wealth, education and prestige and a higher station in life gave them the freedom to only worry about themselves.  ‘We have now done 12 separate studies measuring empathy in every way imaginable, social behaviour in every way, and some work on compassion and it’s the same story,' he concluded.

I did not agree with the professor at the time.  I dismissed the study as a typical prejudiced, narrow-minded conclusion that most studies come to based on a very small sample space.  Surely, in my life as a Rotarian, I have interacted with some of the most altruistic wealthy people.  I have also seen many good men and women working hard to ensure that other people who may not have as plenty as they have, get an education or do some something that will bring them an income to look after themselves and their families.

Last week, I changed my opinion.  Incidentally, I was carrying out a Rotary related exercise when I came into contact with an inconsiderate rich person that is more worried about themselves than those who may not have as much as they do.  I was part of a 4-member team from the Rotary Club of Kiwatule on a needs assessment survey at the Railways Children Primary School in Nsambya.  The school is generally in good condition and managed by two very amiable gentlemen - Head teacher Dexious and Deputy Samex – very fancy names for teachers if you ask me.

After a very warm interview (which felt more like a conversation) about the challenges and opportunities of the school, we went around the school to see the state of the physical infrastructure.  This is when I came face to face with the rich man’s world.  The School was established in 1931 to cater for the children of railway workers of the now defunct East African Railway Corporation.  Its initial purpose was to serve the most under priviledged population of the Kampala area, teaching the children to read and write for future employment as porters and casual workers of the corporation.  In the 1970s, the city authority then, Kampala City Council assumed administration of the school and opened its doors to all interested children.  Inescapably, even after it opened doors to the general public, the school continued to attract children from the poorest families of Nsambya Police Barracks, Gogonya, Kamwanyi and Katwe Slum.  A rich developer who recently acquired the land neighbouring this poor peoples’ school (most of the land around here used to belong to East African Railway Corporation and later its successor Uganda Railway Corporation) decided that he wanted nothing to do with the poverty and squalor next door and built an almost 15 ft high boundary wall right next to the classrooms totally blocking off the windows and vents to the East and effectively killing off all the ventilation and natural light.  What has remained now are very dark classrooms that are poorly ventilated which makes learning (and teaching) very uncomfortable given the over crowding (each classroom has over 80 pupils).  This has created one more other problem for this public school that is run on shoe string budget with funds provided by the Government of Uganda through Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA) – the power bill has gone up because the lights must be kept on during the day in order for the pupils to see what they are writing (or being written on the black board). 

I am inclined to think that the developer is breaking no laws (though I am still not sure about the height of the boundary wall).  What came to my mind however as we went around the school, was, who can be so rich, uncaring and inconsiderate like this?   As an architect, I would like to think of a solution to provide natural lighting and fresh air (ventilation) to these classrooms without annoying the school’s rich neighbour.  The first, quick and cheapest option that came to mind is to provide a few translucent sheets in the roof covering.  Unfortunately, while these provide the much-needed light, they also bring with them most of the tropical heat that it would probably become almost impossible to sit in those classrooms on a hot afternoon.  The other solution is to raise the roof of the classrooms beyond the rich man’s boundary wall and introduce roof vents to facilitate a flow of fresh air through the classrooms – but this is a very expensive venture – who will pay for it?  Can we engage our neighbour next door?