Do we become stingier as we become richer? NPR reports on study about giving and wealth:
Patricia Greenfield has tracked families in Chiapas, Mexico, over four decades. Many were very poor when she started her study. Slowly, over time, they grew wealthier. Along the way, Greenfield noticed something: As the people she followed grew richer, they became more individualistic. Community ties frayed and weakened.
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Greenfield points out that one “silver lining” of the recent recession in the U.S. is that community ties appeared to strengthen as the economy buckled.
Neither Keltner nor Greenfield is offering a screed against wealth. As America has become richer, lots of good things have happened. Disease has declined. Education has improved. Women and minorities have gotten more equal treatment.
Read more here.