User Rating: 0 / 5
While in China, Annette Jahnel1 noted the accumulation of wealth by a few in a society which was not accustomed to it until fairly recently but the lack of wisdom in how it was used shocked her. It seemed as if their desire for all to see their wealth was extraordinary. When in a restaurant, for example, exorbitant amounts of food were ordered even if this resulted in massive waste. Other ways of ensuring that others knew about their newly acquired wealth was the abundance of fancy shoes and clothes, jewellery, furs and large cars. In a country where millions live in dire poverty this display of wealth was quite shocking to the system. It struck me that here in South Africa we have a similar issue with the newly acquired wealth of those who previously were unable to accumulate such material wealth and the millions of poor.