{"id":25582,"date":"2025-10-22T14:46:39","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T21:46:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/?p=25582"},"modified":"2025-10-22T15:15:11","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T22:15:11","slug":"is-it-wrong-to-have-too-much-money-your-answer-may-depend-on-deep-seated-values-and-your-countrys-economy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/is-it-wrong-to-have-too-much-money-your-answer-may-depend-on-deep-seated-values-and-your-countrys-economy\/","title":{"rendered":"Is it wrong to have too much money? Your answer may depend on deep-seated values \u2013 and your country\u2019s\u00a0economy"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                                    \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/10\/trager-money-morality-top-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/10\/trager-money-morality-top-1920x1080.jpg 1920w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/10\/trager-money-morality-top-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/10\/trager-money-morality-top-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  alt=\"Several types of currency overlapping\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  A country\u2019s economic health and level of equity affect citizens\u2019 moral views of extreme wealth. (Image source: iStock.)\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=dornsife-global\">Dornsife Global<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Is it wrong to have too much money? Your answer may depend on deep-seated values \u2013 and your country\u2019s\u00a0economy<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  People who highly value equality and purity are most likely to see excessive wealth as wrong, a new study suggests.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Jackson Trager<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">October 22, 2025<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n   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class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>Across cultures, people often wrestle with whether having lots of money is a blessing, a burden or a moral problem. According to our new research, how someone views billionaires isn\u2019t just about economics. Judgment also hinges on certain cultural and moral instincts, which helps explain why opinions about wealth are so polarized.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/pnasnexus\/pgaf158\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The study<\/a>, which my colleague <a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?user=xvOcrtUAAAAJ&amp;hl=en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Mohammad Atari<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/citations?user=o9WB4v4AAAAJ&amp;hl=en\">and I<\/a> published in the research journal PNAS Nexus in June 2025, examined survey data from more than 4,300 people across 20 countries. We found that while most people around the world do not strongly condemn having \u201ctoo much money,\u201d there are striking cultural differences.<\/p>\n<p>In wealthy, more economically equal countries such as Switzerland and Belgium, people were more likely to say that having too much money is immoral. In countries that are poorer and more unequal, such as Peru or Nigeria, people tended to view wealth accumulation as more acceptable.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond economics, we found that judgments about excessive wealth are also shaped by deeper moral intuitions. Our study drew on <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1037\/pspp0000470\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">moral foundations theory<\/a>, which proposes that people\u2019s sense of right and wrong is built on six core values \u2014 care, equality, proportionality, loyalty, authority and purity. We found that people who highly value equality and purity were more likely to see excessive wealth as wrong.<\/p>\n<p>The equality result was expected, but the role of purity was more surprising. Purity is usually associated with ideas about cleanliness, sanctity or avoiding contamination \u2014 so finding that it is associated with negative views about wealth gives new meaning to the phrase \u201cfilthy rich.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jacksonptrager.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a social psychologist<\/a> who studies morality, culture and technology, I\u2019m interested in how these kinds of judgments differ across groups and societies. Social and institutional systems interact with individual moral beliefs, shaping how people view culture war issues such as wealth and inequality \u2014 and, in turn, how they engage with the policies and conflicts that emerge around them.<\/p>\n<h2>Why it matters<\/h2>\n<p>Billionaires wield growing influence in politics, technology and global development. The richest 1% of people on Earth <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oxfam.org\/en\/press-releases\/worlds-top-1-own-more-wealth-95-humanity-shadow-global-oligarchy-hangs-over-un\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">own more wealth than 95% of people combined<\/a>, according to Oxfam, an organization focused on fighting poverty.<\/p>\n<p>Efforts to address inequality by taxing or regulating the rich may, however, rest on a mistaken assumption \u2014 that the public generally condemns extreme wealth. If most people instead view amassing wealth as morally justifiable, such reforms could face limited support.<\/p>\n<p>Our findings suggest that in countries where inequality is highly visible and persistent, people may adapt by <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1111\/j.2044-8309.1994.tb01008.x\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">morally justifying their structural economic system<\/a>, arguing that it is fair and legitimate. In wealthier, more equal societies, people appear more sensitive to the potential harms of excess.<\/p>\n<p>While our study shows that most people around the world do not view excessive wealth as morally wrong, those in wealthier and more equal countries are far more likely to condemn it.<\/p>\n<p>That contrast raises a sharper question: When people in privileged societies denounce and attempt to limit billionaires, are they shining a light on global injustice \u2014 or projecting their own sense of guilt? Are they projecting a moral principle shaped by their own prosperity onto poorer countries, where wealth may represent survival, progress or even hope?<\/p>\n<h2>What still isn\u2019t known<\/h2>\n<p>One open question: How do these views change over time? Do attitudes shift when societies become wealthier or more equal? Are young people more likely than older generations to condemn billionaires? Our study offers a snapshot, but long-term research could reveal whether moral judgments track broader economic or cultural changes.<\/p>\n<p>Another uncertainty is the unexpected role of purity. Why would a value tied to cleanliness and sanctity shape how people judge billionaires? <a href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1093\/pnasnexus\/pgaf158\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Our follow-up study<\/a> found that purity concerns extended beyond money to other forms of \u201cexcess,\u201d such as disapproving of having \u201ctoo much\u201d ambition, sex or fun. This suggests that people may see excess itself \u2014 not just inequality \u2014 as corrupting.<\/p>\n<h2>What\u2019s next<\/h2>\n<p>We\u2019re continuing to study how cultural values, social systems and moral intuitions shape people\u2019s judgments of fairness and excess \u2014 from views of wealth and ambition to knowledge and AI computing power.<\/p>\n<p>Understanding these gut-level, moral reactions within larger social systems matters for debates about inequality. But it can also help explain how people evaluate technologies, leaders and institutions that accumulate disproportionate, excessive power or influence.<\/p>\n<p><em>The <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/us\/topics\/research-brief-83231\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Research Brief<\/a> is a short take on interesting academic work.<\/em><!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/265247\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/jackson-trager-2480026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Jackson Trager<\/a>, PhD Candidate in <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/psyc\/\">Psychology<\/a>, <em><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/usc-dornsife-college-of-letters-arts-and-sciences-2669\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>This article is republished from <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/is-it-wrong-to-have-too-much-money-your-answer-may-depend-on-deep-seated-values-and-your-countrys-economy-265247\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">original article<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n  \n        \n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-related-stories \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-related-stories\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--section-title\">\n\n    \n  <h2>\n          Related Articles\n      <\/h2>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n                  <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/russia-ukraine-war-analysis-by-international-relations-experts\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >What will it take to end the Russia-Ukraine war? Two experts tell us<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/amazon-gold-mining-impedes-reforestation-efforts\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Why forests aren\u2019t coming back after gold mining in the Amazon<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n              <article>\n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--cta-title\">\n\n    \n  <h3>\n          <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/tropical-cyclones-increase-infant-mortality-in-poorer-countries\/\" \n                        class=\"\" \n      >Even weak tropical cyclones raise infant mortality in poorer countries, USC-led research finds<\/a>\n      <\/h3>\n\n\n<\/div>\n        <\/article>\n            <\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>People who highly value equality and purity are most likely to see excessive wealth as wrong, a new study suggests. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":25585,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9,24,17],"tags":[421,112,60],"class_list":["post-25582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dornsife-global","category-social-impact","category-student","tag-ethics","tag-psychology","tag-research"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Is it wrong to have too much money? Your answer may depend on deep-seated values \u2013 and your country\u2019s\u00a0economy<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The economic state of your country also matters when it comes to your moral stance on extreme wealth, according to USC Dornsife research\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/is-it-wrong-to-have-too-much-money-your-answer-may-depend-on-deep-seated-values-and-your-countrys-economy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is &#039;too much money&#039; wrong? It depends on your deep-seated values\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The economic state of your country also matters when it comes to your moral stance on extreme wealth, according to USC Dornsife research\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/is-it-wrong-to-have-too-much-money-your-answer-may-depend-on-deep-seated-values-and-your-countrys-economy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"USC Dornsife News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uscdornsife\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-22T21:46:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-10-22T22:15:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2025\/10\/trager-money-morality-top.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1150\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Darrin Joy\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@uscdornsife\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@uscdornsife\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/is-it-wrong-to-have-too-much-money-your-answer-may-depend-on-deep-seated-values-and-your-countrys-economy\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/is-it-wrong-to-have-too-much-money-your-answer-may-depend-on-deep-seated-values-and-your-countrys-economy\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Darrin Joy\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/851085523b73581e3387a7fc90cadb96\"},\"headline\":\"Is it wrong to have too much money? 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