In an article titled “It’s tough at the top” last week BRW announced the list of the 200 wealthiest Australians. Miles ahead of everyone else was mining magnate Gina Rinehardt, who has amassed an impressive wealth of $27.17 billion.
Following the announcement many have been quick to debate the continued role Rinehardt plays in Australian politics, particularly given her often well-financed opposition to policies such as the carbon and mining tax.
Despite this however, few have gotten up and asked the question that I think is much more important than this; why on Earth does someone need so much wealth and why does our economic system allow for it?
When you look at the numbers of Rinehardt’s wealth, you can’t help but think how ridiculous it is. To put them in perspective Rinehardt is now earning approximately $600 per second and $51.7 million a day. That means that she earns more than the Australian weekly minimum wage every second (the minimum wage is $589.30).
When faced with those numbers many are quick to say that she, just everyone else on that list, deserves the wealth she has gotten. She has simply just done a very good job within our competitive capitalist system. She has played the system well and based on the rules we set out has “fairly” earned the money she has amassed.
In an ideal world, where resources are completely abundant, the argument may hold up. Yet, that is not the world we live in. Rinehardt is now sitting on this extreme wealth at a time when many others continue to be unable to afford the basics to even survive. Whilst a very few number of people earn more in a day than most could spend in a lifetime, many others have nothing to spend at all.
For many what this says is that Rinehardt, like many others, is simply greedy. Common criticisms of her are that she should give more to charity. She should take a leaf out of Bill Gates’ book and share her wealth around. In reality however, the problem is not that Rinehardt is greedy; it is that our economic system rewards greed.
Capitalism is based on the individual pursuit of profit before everything else. A profit based system is explained as the only way to ensure the efficient production of goods, which is seen as the major goal of our system. At an individual level this has resulted in much of the focus of our society is now around how to ‘get rich’. We define our success by how wealthy we are. Good jobs are determined by how much they pay. Magazines, newspapers and television shows celebrate the wealth of others and promote ways that people can reach that success. This is why we celebrate, not question, Rinehardt’s growing wealth.
The problem with this is that whilst capitalism may be good at allowing some people to become very wealthy, and it may be even better at creating cheaper products every year, there are many other social values that it lets down.
When reflecting on the rich 200 list you can see that the first basic one is the idea of everyone being able to have what they need to survive. Living in a world of limited resources, we only have so much to share around to an ever growing population. The existence of such wealth for some therefore occurs whilst others are missing out on having even the most basic needs. Whilst we celebrate the ‘success’ of wealthy people, we quickly forget about the many others that can’t even afford what is required to live.
Beyond this, individual value systems are now becoming very focused around increasing personal wealth rather than those such as friendship, family or community. Jobs and careers are no all about becoming wealthy, with the idea of doing good for society falling by the wayside. The extreme desire for continued material progress is trashing many of the environmental and social foundations that hold up our community.
The continued growth of Gina Rinehardt’s wealth is the epitome of what is wrong with our obsession with getting rich. Whilst Rinehardt earns more than she could ever possibly spend, many others continue to not be able to afford the basics they need to live.
Yet, the way to solve these problems is not necessarily to criticise Rinehardt for the way she has accumulated her wealth, or even because she doesn’t share much of it around. She has simply done a good job of playing by the rules of our economic system.
Instead we really need to start questioning the values of our economic system. Seeing someone be able to amass such wealth whilst others suffer impinges directly on my sense of what our society should value. Why are we valuing individual economic advantage instead on ensuring everyone has the resources that they need to survive? Why are we pursuing the continued push for growth instead of an economic system that works for the environmental and social needs of our community?
Rinehardt’s massive growth should ring alarm bells for anyone who values our society. Instead of celebrating her massive wealth we should be questioning why we think anyone deserves that.