The most effective fight against inequality is the political one, but there are other methods in the repertoire that the people often resort to. These methods include those that vary between rhetorical class revenge and consolation. The most famous example - sung in songs, presented in conclusions - concerns a certain misfortune that money supposedly brings. We all know "what money can't buy" and how much wealth distances individuals from society and makes them deeply unhappy. These diagnoses can sometimes be so harsh that in the more naive they can even cause fear of money that "spoils". Therefore, we take revenge on the rich with a richer and better quality social life that is unavailable to them, and at the same time we console ourselves for the poor account balance: it's better not to have it.
As is generally the case with non-political corrections of class and income differences, they are not based on sociologically valid judgments. Namely, research shows that money - whether personal in an account or publicly invested in infrastructure - greatly contributes to the quality of social life. In recent years, loneliness has become more and more common as a symptom of declining quality of life. Loneliness itself at first appears as a personal choice, and if not exactly as a personal choice, then at least as a lack of talent for socialization. However, there are numerous social factors that go beyond the domain of personal decisions and preferences and decisively determine the feeling of loneliness. Of course, the feeling of loneliness itself is not directly related to loneliness: we can be comfortable with loneliness for one reason or another. The difference is whether it is our choice or the result of a combination of social and economic relations.
On the pages of, so to speak, the respected Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, an exhaustive article was published at the beginning of the week that deals with research on loneliness in Germany and Europe. Research has brought a whole series of interesting results. Young people, for example, are lonelier than older generations, and women are lonelier than men. The first result is attributed mainly to the recent context of corona measures that had a stronger impact on the socialization of young people, and the second to the longer life expectancy of women who remain alone after the death of their husbands. Also, it is interesting that at the European level, the problem of loneliness occurs more often in "collectivist" societies such as Mediterranean ones. One of the possible reasons is the pressure of the obligation to belong to the collective: there is less room for maneuver for the realization of different social priorities.
In contrast to these "passing" or interpretation-oriented examples, there are also those with somewhat more precise reasons. Namely, the feeling of loneliness decreases proportionally with the increase in monthly income. Poverty simply affects social life: poor people, according to research and common sense, meet friends and acquaintances less often, visit and receive guests less often. The reason is simple, social life costs money. And not only does it cost money. The poor often feel shame and avoid social life because of this. Also, living in less developed regions or parts of cities with weaker infrastructure, less accessible parks and public spaces for recreation, statistically significantly contributes to loneliness. Despite the fame of the supposedly authentic life that arises in such contexts.
The amount of work also affects the feeling of loneliness. The employed feel less lonely than the unemployed, but the risk of loneliness increases for all those who work overtime or quite hard. Especially those who need to work more to meet their basic needs. They just don't have time to hang out. And loneliness is not only a problem of immediate quality of life. Loneliness shortens life expectancy and contributes to more frequent mental and other illnesses. Permanently lonely people suffer from heart disease, anxiety, headaches and other ailments more often than others. That is why it is necessary to evacuate loneliness from the sphere of personal choices, lack of social talent, social maladjustment and fears that are treated on an individual level. Or more precisely, distinguish individual from social reasons. Loneliness is primarily a problem of the lower classes, not of the alienated rich spoiled by money. The more social problems are depoliticized, the more stable society appears to be. And that impression depends on the endurance of the weakest. Primarily their backs are cracking.
(bilten.org)
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