[Lee Yongbeom's Psychology of Happiness] The Illusion That "Poor People Are Happy" Is Created by the Rich

<25>How Fair Is the World?

When an Accident Happens, the 'Victim Is Blamed'
This Psychological Phenomenon Is the 'Just World Hypothesis'

Believing in Justice by Justifying the Misfortunes of Sexual Victims, Homeless People, Unemployed, and Disabled

Youths Angry About Privileges for High-Status Children
Forced into Fierce Competition, They Have Little Leisure

The Belief That 'The World Is Fair' Is Hypocrisy
But a Pessimistic View Is Disadvantageous for Survival
They Have No Choice but to Believe "If You Try, You Will Succeed"

Iyongbeom Novelist

“Two children were caught stealing apples in an orchard by the owner. One child was caught, and the other barely escaped but fell into the water when the bridge collapsed while crossing a stream. Would the bridge have collapsed even if that child hadn’t stolen the apples?”

This story was a question posed by Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget (1896?1980) to children aged 6 to 12. In 1991, another psychologist analyzed children’s reactions to the same story. The results showed that 86% of 6-year-olds, 73% of 7- to 8-year-olds, 54% of 9- to 10-year-olds, and 34% of 11- to 12-year-olds answered that if the child had not stolen the apples, he would not have fallen into the water. Younger children believed that bad deeds would be punished by divine retribution.

Why Victims Are Blamed

In 2004, a tsunami in the Indian Ocean claimed the lives of over 230,000 people. At that time, some Christians claimed it was a divine warning for the sins committed by humans. Similar warnings were heard when COVID-19 swept the world last year. Did those who lost their lives in disasters really deserve such punishment?

People tend to look for reasons when bad things happen. When someone suffers an accident, they try to find a reason why the victim might have deserved it. This psychological phenomenon is explained by the “just-world hypothesis.” People tend to believe that the world is fair, so good deeds are rewarded and bad deeds are punished. Blaming victims stems from this psychology, assuming that the victim must have done something to deserve their misfortune.

We justify the victim’s misfortune to maintain our belief that the world is fair. According to psychologists, the more severe the traffic accident, the more the victim is blamed. Sexual assault victims also face humiliating blame. Especially, sex offenders justify their actions by shifting responsibility onto the victims.

American criminal psychologist Gresham Sykes (1922?2010) and sociologist David Matza (1930?2018) categorized the process by which criminals justify their actions into five stages. First, they make excuses by claiming the situation was unavoidable. Second, they assert that their actions caused no harm. Third, they mislead by blaming the victim as well. Fourth, they protest that society’s criticism of them is unfair. Fifth, they justify their actions as being for the benefit of the community.

People who believe the world is fair tend to hold victims responsible. They despise AIDS patients, the extremely poor, sexual assault victims, homeless people, the unemployed, and the disabled, thinking these groups are the cause of their own misfortune. Therefore, those who believe in a just world show less concern for the vulnerable.

Are Poor People Happy?

American psychologist Melvin Lerner showed experiment participants two people working on tasks behind a glass window. He then said that, due to budget constraints, only one person was randomly paid. After revealing who received the payment, he asked participants to evaluate the work of both individuals. The participants rated the contributions of the unpaid person lower and even said that his work was inferior.

This experiment shows why people tend to highly evaluate the rich or powerful. They believe the rich or powerful became so because of hard work, while the poor are seen as inferior or lazy, which is why they did not become rich.

This psychology leads to justifications for inequality. According to Aaron Kay, a psychology professor at Duke University, people think that if someone does something because they like it, they should endure poor working conditions. Because they enjoy their work, exploitation is acceptable. They also believe that passionate workers do not need additional rewards.

Therefore, people take the poverty of social activists devoted to the community or artists who voluntarily engage in creative work as natural. They find virtues like diligence or passion in successful people to justify their success, while they find negative causes in those who fail, stigmatizing them as losers. Some poor people are poor because they are lazy. However, many work hard but cannot escape poverty. For those who believe the world is fair, the solution to such injustice is simple: create the illusion that poverty leads to happiness. The idea that the rich are slaves to work and desire also comes from this strategy. In reality, the biggest problem for poor people is poverty itself. Studies show that poor people, regardless of age, gender, education level, or race, tend to accept unfair situations passively. The rich, on the other hand, coldly reject unfair deals even when only minor losses are expected. The rich quickly recognize potential losses, whereas poor people often cannot refuse even when losses are certain. This is because poor people are well aware that they are vulnerable.

Hypocrisy or False Belief

Believing the world is fair can reduce psychological conflict over injustice. However, this belief also has the side effect of conveniently covering up social problems.

When belief in a just world is used to justify oneself, one’s group, or ideology, it can lead to the error of justifying existing irrational systems. It shifts social problems that need to be solved onto individuals.

One’s political ideology also influences how victims are viewed. According to a study, conservatives tend to blame victims more often.

The issue of fairness concerns “who the world is fair to.” Believing the world is fair to oneself is very different from believing it is fair to others. Those who believe the world is fair to themselves tend to view the world positively and generally enjoy a happy life. They maintain self-esteem and confidence even in anxious or uncertain situations.

However, those who believe the world is fair to others tend to ignore or view socially vulnerable people negatively. In 2008, a researcher disguised as a beggar in Grenoble’s central square in the Is?re department of France observed passersby. Some gave alms, while others passed by indifferently. When the researchers followed up with surveys, they found that those who believed “the world is fair to others” were less likely to give alms. This was because they psychologically believed that becoming a beggar was entirely the person’s own fault.

Youth are very sensitive to fairness. They criticize privileged children of the elite or temporary workers becoming permanent employees without competition. This is because they did not gain such benefits through their own efforts. It signals that young people are caught in fierce survival competition. Nowadays, young people fighting intense job battles have no room even for consideration of the vulnerable.

The world is not fair to anyone. That is why social conflicts exist and ideologies and political forces seek to resolve them. Yet people still believe the world is fair. This belief provides psychological stability by allowing people to think the world operates accordingly.

An unpredictable world is an ambiguous world where the future cannot be foreseen. In such a world, one cannot expect rewards for effort or dedication. Belief in a just world becomes a spark of hope even for poor people because they believe that if they try hard, they will eventually succeed. Conversely, those who are convinced the world is unfair live lives full of dissatisfaction. People with a pessimistic worldview are biologically disadvantaged for survival. Belief in a just world is self-deception. But as long as it contributes to life, that belief survives.