I grew up in a middle class home in a small town in northern Alberta Canada. We did not go without but we definitely didn’t have a lot. I actually didn’t have a lot of exposure to “rich” people, as it appeared to me everyone in my town was basically the same. There wasn’t really any socio-economic strata to be had. We just all co-existed. I was pretty darn happy, as I didn’t  have any reason to believe I was less than or deprived in any way.

When I moved to the city as an adult I was suddenly exposed to this strange phenomenon of social classes. There were “rich” neighbourhoods and “poor” neighbourhoods and people would ask you your address when they met you to determine if you were worth knowing or not. I found this very strange. Why would people care about where I live? What difference did it make?

There were parts of the city that you didn’t want to go to at night, and parts of the city where they wouldn’t allow you access unless you lived there. I was being shown that the rich only wanted to hang out with other rich people and if you didn’t belong to the club, you were not allowed in. The word “exclusive” was a common marketing phrase to sell homes and other services. I finally understood all of those 80’s movies about the rich kids and the poor kids. They never made any sense to me until I lived in the city.

As Hannibal Lector so eloquently stated in the movie “The Silence of the Lambs” :

“How do we begin to covet? We begin by coveting what we see every day.” 

 So true. 

I thought life was just grand until I saw how the “rich” were living. They had giant houses with spectacular views, and nice clothes and fancy cars, and they ate at restaurants that I couldn’t afford. They went on exotic trips all over the world and had summer homes and country club memberships. I wanted that. I needed that. Especially because I was treated like a second class citizen that I didn’t previously know that I was. I wasn’t worth talking to or including in any of these lifestyle actives as I couldn’t possibly afford them. 

My eyes were opened when I read one of the most incredible books I have ever read. It is called “Happy City” by Charles Montgomery. In the pages of this masterpiece were insights and scientifically proven facts that brought me back to reality. It proved that people are happier when they live in communities that include a mixed demographic. Rich and poor all living together without walls or exclusivity to divide them. This was just like my small town. We were all happy. We didn’t care who had more money or where you lived. We just all got along. 

The people in the cities that are trying to barricade themselves from the world and create a little Rich persons utopia were actually doing it wrong. This was not adding to their happiness at all. 

I devoured this book and I recommend it to everyone I meet. It is well written, interesting and mind blowing. 

Many cities around the world are incorporating the ideas in this book into their urban planning. Cities like Vancouver, Canada are starting to implement rules that require all new developments to include a certain percentage of low income housing in their plans. This has proven to be successful and created real communities that are vibrant and dynamic. Happiness seems to be dependent on inclusion, not the opposite. Imagine that. 

So in my quest to improve my socioeconomic status I am supported in my thinking that I am not trying to become “better” than anyone or remove myself from the huddled masses. I am just trying to make life easier for my family and be the best that I can be.

Many self help gurus talk about how you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with. If you hang out with “roaches” then it is very likely that you will behave in a similar fashion and enjoy a very similar lifestyle than them. So they suggest finding people who are living lives that you aspire to and spend time with these new people. They will rub off on you and motivate you to be better. There is a direct correlation between your daily habits and your level of success. By having a peer group that are ambitious and goal oriented you will be motivated to try to fit in and your habits will emulate your peers, resulting in similar outcomes. This is plain fact. 

How does this relate to mixed demographics? 

Because nothing happens in a vacuum. There is a feedback loop that is in play in every society. If you are wealthy and live amongst poor people, it is equally likely that they will influence you  as you might influence them. Poverty is often perpetuated because that is all they know. The daily behaviours and habits of the poor are usually different that those of the rich. If people are exposed to alternate ways of behaving, then they will be far more aware of the possibilities that are available to them. We tend to learn how to function in the world from our parents and our peer groups. Our behaviours are learned from the world we are exposed to every day. If we come from a background of crime, substance abuse, and desperation, we will probably learn behaviours and decision making skills that will produce those same outcomes. If we don’t know any different, we can’t be any different.

The same is true if we live in an exclusive “bubble” of rich people. We might not even realize how good we have it and suffer an existential crisis because our lives are so static.

By all means, surround yourself with people who you want to be like. But remember that you can be a positive influence on others as well. Everyone deserves the opportunity to at least see the options available to them. If you choose to not pursue a life of growth and contribution, then so be it. At least it was a choice. You are free to live how you want, but if you don’t even know that there is a different or perhaps better way to live your life then you are being cheated. You are being forced into a life that you didn’t choose. It just appears to be all that there is available. That is a crime. 

This is why we need to have financial education available to everyone. Everyone, no matter what their circumstances, should be given the information they need to decide if they want to pursue a better life or not. It needs to be available to them no matter whether their parents are rich.

Poverty is a cycle. It continues because people don’t realize they have options and they tend to be surrounded by people who are in similar circumstances. If we had cities that included all kinds of people in every neighbourhood then those options would appear real and multiple life paths might seem possible.  

The funny thing is, even rich people don’t know everything. It is quite common for extremely wealthy families to lose everything within 2 generations as the principles of wealth creation are sometimes taken for granted and not reinforced. There is no exclusivity when it comes to ignorance. 

So if you are pursuing wealth, remember that the economy and money work best when money flows. Money needs to circulate in order to generate value. If you hoard money it stagnates. If you allow it to move throughout society everyone benefits. The economy is a product of people working, spending and growing. The more people we can get on board the better. We should not strive for exclusivity. That suggests that there is only so much to go around and that wealth is finite. This is just not how economics work. Money and capitalism is a product of people adding value to the world. If we educate people on how money works, they will be more productive and add value and wealth to the capitalist world at large. There is no benefit to anyone keeping wealth and knowledge to a select few. 

So if you want to learn to rise above your circumstances, it would be beneficial to you if you had access to people who are living lives that you admire and be able to speak with them and learn from them. If you are already rich, it would benefit you to share your knowledge with as many people as possible so there is more money in the world that you can use your knowledge to attain. 

The middle class are disappearing and we are becoming more and more separate. We need to start to adjust our behaviours and start to think inclusively instead of exclusively. This way, we all benefit. Studies have shown that cooperation is usually far more effective than competition. People believe that we live in a dog eat dog society and maybe we do, but we are all pat of that society, so we have the ability to make change. We all have the ability to offer a different way of living that tries to add value to our society. We can work together as a team. We can teach people how to prosper and try to bring everyone up to a level of dignity and peace. 

I believe that universal basic income would be a good thing but I also believe that we need to live in a meritocracy. People should be compensated for innovation hard work and productivity, but they should be given the opportunity to exist first and foremost. No-one should be homeless or starving. We have the technology, social constructs and means to take care of everyone. It is immoral to allow people to suffer and die just because they are too poor. This is ridiculous. If we made it a priority to house, clothe and feed everyone then people would have the opportunity to better themselves.

 In the book, “Give People Money” they prove that Universal Basic Income  actually makes people more productive. Most people want to be productive and will be if given the chance. You can reduce hunger, crime, substance abuse and mental illness by giving people hope. Give them money, yes, but also give them education. Teach people that there are options. Show them that there are choices. Say to them:

“You can have any type of life you want, and here is the blueprint”. 

THIS WOULD BE THE IDEAL.  

I believe many of society’s problems would be eliminated if we took the initiative to educate people about what is possible. By offering people financial education as well as traditional education we could create much more prosperity in the world for everyone. This is likely to help control the population as well as prosperous countries have lower birthrates than impoverished ones do. Financial education could very well save the planet. 

So educate yourself - and pass it along. You can contribute to the great awakening of planet earth. Prosperity breeds greatness, and humanity has much to accomplish yet. 

Be a part of it.