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[–] Kannibal [S] 1 point 0 points (+1|-1) ago 

Society today is economically more powerful than it was in the 1950s, with our money buying much more. In 1950, a 13” color TV cost over $8,000 (adjusting for inflation), whereas today a 40” LCD TV costs less than $200. Despite this objective improvement, one demographic group—white men without a college diploma—has seen a substantial relative decrease in their economic position since the 1950s. It is this relatively deprived group who really wanted to Make America Great Again—not to have expensive TVs, but to relive the days when they had a greater status than other groups.

The real problem with relative deprivation is that—while it can be pushed around—it can never be truly solved. When one group rises in relative richness, another group feels worse because of it. When your neighbors get an addition or a new convertible, your house and your car inevitably look inadequate. When uneducated white men feel better, then women, professors, and people of color inevitably feel worse. Relative deprivation suggests that economic advancement is less like a rising tide and more like see-saw.

So your self esteem is based not on what you have accomplished, but on how much other people are worse off from you?