Somebody told me that statisticaly the most unethical people are the extremely poor and the extremely rich. The middle class is the most ethical one. Are there any studies backing this up?
Define “unethical”
I’m going to go with the standard, generally accepted Western definition of ethical which would basically include not stealing, murdering, cheating, raping and so on.
I don’t know of any studies, but I was thinking about this the other day.
It would seem to me that the very poor would tend to unethical behavior 1) because they are forced to in order to survive, 2) because to a large extent, leading a life of criminal behavior will make you poor - problems with getting a job, credit, and so on and 3) have nothing to lose.
It would also seem to me that the very rich would have a greater percentage of unethical people since 1) they would be people who used unethical means to gain wealth and not get caught 2) having money can screw up your ethics by insulating you from the consequences of your actions and 3) have a great deal to lose and be willing to risk more to hold on to it.
The middle class would basically be more ethical because being ethical and following the rules would make you middle class. If you basically went through life doing everything you are supposed to - get good grades, go to college, get a good job, get married with 2.3 kids, work for 40 years and then die - you will live a comfortible, unremarkable life - IOW “middle class”.
Just my crazy theory not based on anything in particular.