Foreigners to human nature
Foreigners to human nature

Summary/Abstract: Is there a relation between wealth and human nature? Can the Delphic maxim "know thyself” (γνῶθι σεαυτὸν) help us decide whether or not to be affluent and wealthy? And if so: how rich? Human beings, says Aristotle, can only use and benefit from a limited amount of goods and services. The very rich have more than they need; the poor are in need because they have the minimum required to live, or even less. Only in the ‘middle’ do we find those who enjoy ‘true wealth’. Any society should search to increase the number of persons who possess enough and therefore are ‘truly wealthy’. Every human being should have what one needs. To achieve a ‘truly rich’ ‘middle class’ (Aristotle) rather than aspiring to increase its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), per capita GDP or income equality in terms of a normal distribution a country must solve the welfare problem of its population. That means it must end with the food, health, education, employment, and other such gaps. This paper argues that the hierarchical stratification of the contemporary Mexican society that favors an outrageously rich minority could renew its social order with the understanding of two Aristotelian categories: attainment of ‘real wealth’ for large ‘middle class’. This would allow Mexico to become a member of the developed world by turning into a mostly middle class country.

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