Do you believe in the premise that the world belongs to the wealthy, smartest, a

1. 84

   gmwilliamsposted 9 years ago

   Do you believe in the premise that the world belongs to the wealthy, smartest, and most powerful?
   
   

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2. 0

   Janice Hornerposted 9 years ago

   In one word, no!  The world belongs to everyone, rich or poor.  Money can buy you anything you want if you are super rich, but it does not mean that the super rich own the world.  Being smart can generate that wealth.  Having power?  Having a powerful influence can get you where you want to be, but it cannot own the planet.

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   chef-de-jourposted 9 years ago

   There's no doubt the material world belongs to those with money, titles, land and connections but I make a distinction between the world of things and the abstract world, the arts if you like. Yes, a wealthy powerful person may be able to buy the most expensive piece of art there is but the chances are that same person will not be able to create something genuinely artistic.
   Ideally a true artist owns this abstract world - they don't need a fancy gallery, a publisher or a rich sponsor - and they need only a few things to express themselves.
   But life is more complex and reality harsh. Generally speaking if you're loaded and well connected you get more opportunities to flourish in today's dog eat dog society.

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4. 91

   Kylyssaposted 9 years ago

   I don't believe the world should belong to the wealthiest, smartest, and most powerful but I think, in practice, it does belong to the wealthiest and most powerful. 
   
   Please note I left smartest off of there because, while highly intelligent people have a bit better chance of succeeding in the world, their genius, aptitudes, and skills do not necessarily or even usually lead to becoming extremely wealthy.  Intelligence alone can't get you very far, even if you work very hard.  My favorite example of a genius who did amazing things and worked his butt off but got nowhere in the realm of wealth is Tesla.
   
   I believe the world should be owned by no one but should be shared by everyone alive and everyone yet to be born.  As long as the dominant life form on our planet is humans who allow their lives to be dominated by the manipulation of markers originally intended to stand in for the value of goods and services, that will never happen.

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5. 68

   Rod Marsdenposted 9 years ago

   The wealthy are not always the smartest. You can inherit wealth. As for the smartest and most powerful, the world does in general terms belong to them anyway.
   
   Being in power doesn't automatically make you intelligent on all levels. President Bush I believe had street smarts. One particular election may well have been rigged so that he won office. He diverted attention from his stock market activities that were dodgy though not illegal at the time via getting the USA and other countries involved in Iraq. His IQ however was considered fairly low compared to other presidents. Obama is more book smart than street savvy and that is the reason he won't stay president.
   
   There are those in the world capable of inspiring others, through religion, to do the most horrible things. What is happening in Iraq right now has to do with this sort of power.
   
   So does the world belong to those who can grab power and hold onto it? Well, there are democratic checks and balances in countries such as the USA, the UK, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. And so there are limits to just how much power one person can have in such countries. As for countries that don't have a democratic system, well, the results for the people can be disastrous. North Korea is a great example of this. There you have people starving and a showcase supermarket with all sorts of goodies the average person in that country can't afford to buy. This supermarket is really only on show to foreigners to give the impression that North Korea is progressive. It in fact does the opposite.
   
   When the American colonies broke away from the British Empire it was under the premise that there should be no taxation without representation.
   
   Australia became a federation in 1901 with the idea that there would be state premiers representing the people of the now states which were the colonies. Even the Northern Territory is represented. There is voting. In 1902 women gained the vote in federal elections. Thus the people may not directly have the power but they do have an indirect say in  who has it and for how long.

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   Knogginposted 9 years ago

   I have talked to a few that I would call wealthy. My conclusion is they can no way be considered smart, just bold enough to go after what they believe 
   is rightfully their's. The only thing belongs to them is what the rest of the world is willing to give them.

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   Seafarer Mamaposted 9 years ago

   I believe that the world belongs to everybody and that if many of the earth's human inhabitants have favored the wealthiest over others, it is not as it should or could be.
   
   I believe that there are some smart people who know how to bring solar power to the world, but they have not been invested in the same way the machinery of war has. What if all of the money going to making war machines was put toward melting all of those weapons and such to turn them into solar panels? Perhaps the earth will begin to heal. Those are the smart people who deserve to be funded by the wealthy. And perhaps that endeavor were to employ many people, then perhaps the distribution of wealth would become more balanced than it is now.

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   Tricia Deedposted 9 years ago

   Wealth, smart, and power...by whose definition? I have met poor people who thought they were wealthy, stupid people who thought they were smart. The only people which I have met who were "power" concerned were people who had money. Why would anyone with wealth, smarts, and power want to rule the world. When you watch movies which these 3 elements these people sooner or later will be destroyed to little or no wealth, made to question their intelligence, and loss of power is devastating or suicidal. But if you have a reasonable amount of financial success, intelligence, sharp common sense, and feel that you have the power to accomplish anything you set out to do then you have a wonderful and happy world which you have created for yourself and your loved ones.

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   kj forceposted 9 years ago

   Personally...Knowledge is power... and it's how you use that knowledge" which determines your position/power in the world
   The old saying " teach a man to fish and he'll never go hungry "...whereas give it to him and when you stop he will starve to death..
   Statement  " wealthiest, smartest and most powerful " own the world.. possibly but who works for them to keep them in that status ?
   So my guess would be all of us own a part of the world just a little less percentage than the wealthy .

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10. 85

    cianekoposted 9 years ago

    Not the entire world but majority of it.

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