Being a product of the middle class has made us a risk averter. We have never lived the extremes, and nor will we ever try to.
The rich – well, they’re so comfortably perched that any new venture to them is just another possibility. The power of their inherent wealth has left them with no element of existential risk. They can try their hands at something new, fully comfortable in the knowledge that no matter what happens they will still have a year’s supply of their daily bread. Not having to work for that, they have grown bored. They wonder why don’t they go out and start a bread factory. The factory will sell others their daily bread, they will make loads of money in the process and generations to come will have their bread secure. Even if it came to nothing, they would have at least killed time for a while. They might have lost the next year’s supply but at least they tried their hand at something. They still have eleven months to try their hands at something else – maybe an ice cream factory.
The poor – they are in such a hopeless situation that there is no other option but to take risk. They cannot live the way they currently do – that is not the way to be living a life, they need to break the shackles of their abject situation. The only way is to stick a limb out, to put their necks on the line. With only a tiny morsel available for the whole family – they either starve to death, or they could say “Enough! I’m going to get us some more bread – by hook or by crook.” By hook or by crook works for it gets them a day’s bread for the family. They will need to go out again the next day, but they will also live. They are forced to take the risk again, otherwise they will perish. Maybe one day they’ll become so good at risk-taking that they will start a small bakery.
We the middle class, however, we have always had bread. It wasn’t a whole lot of bread, but then we never had to sleep on an empty stomach either. Our dads bought us a month’s bread every thirtieth, and then when we grew up we started doing the same. We don’t see why we need to hoard any more bread, or why we should try extra hard for a loaf when we already have tomorrow’s bread in the fridge. We will sit back and watch our colour TVs instead. Next morning, we will go back to our dreary jobs, at the end of the month collect our cheques and, promptly go and buy next month’s bread.
The only risk we ever take is of never having taken a risk.
