Harden Elkington
Every human being on earth would live like royalty, we would have no hunger, and there would be less crime. First, our hearts would rejoice when everyone was finally wealthy.
Then, we would quickly realize that the world would become a place of such terrifying upheaval – chaos and disruption would seemingly rule the day.
In the eyes of us all, it would devolve into a terrifyingly long line of people, all hoping to grab what little remains after the wealthy didn’t have enough for themselves.
What would happen if everyone became rich? Would we live in a utopian society where everyone has loving families? Or would we be just as unequal and dis-empowered as we currently are?
What it seems to the world when everyone is rich?
It’s difficult to say. What would happen if everyone in the world suddenly were granted one million dollars?
How would that money be spent and distributed around the globe?
What would the first world do with all of their money?
What would happen to countries like North Korea and Somalia if everyone in those countries suddenly had millions of dollars?
What we think what happens when everyone become rich
- World peace, no hunger, equality.
- Everyone will try to take care of themselves and improve their own life.
- Inequality between countries because each country will try to get out of poverty faster than the other countries.
- People in poor countries probably won’t make good decisions with their money and will spend it on unnecessary things instead of investing in something profitable.
- No one would be poor anymore because even the poorest people would have $1 million.
- No country would have a lot of debt anymore.
- Countries that spent their money on weapons and made more money instead of taking care of the people in that country probably will still have a lot of problems because there is no such thing as equality when everyone is rich.
What actually happens?
Wealthy people would give some of their money to the poor and re-distribute it.
If everyone had $1 million, then nobody would be really rich but enough money for everybody to live comfortably. Everyone would have some money to invest and it may even spark a technological revolution.
If everyone received the same amount of money as they currently do, then nothing would significantly change.
Sure, people could make more investments and buy nicer homes/cars/etc.. but, no one would be “rich”. Life’s luxuries wouldn’t change for most people.
If everyone received $1 million, then some would become rich and others would stay where they are.
The gap between the “haves” and “have-nots” would grow because of how money flows (and its owners).
What would happen to the economy if everyone was rich?
It could go either way, really. If people were to invest their money in something productive rather than frivolously buy things or simply hoard them, then the economy would be stimulated.
If everyone were foolish with their money and spent it on materialistic items that don’t increase the wealth of humanity as a whole (nor do they improve living conditions), then the economy would suffer.
What would happen to crime?
If everyone became rich, crime would drop because people wouldn’t want to put in effort into committing crimes any longer. They could live a luxurious life without stealing and breaking the law.
This is assuming, of course, that no one does anything illegal with their money (such as buying a weapon of mass destruction or funding a terrorist group).
What would happen to the standard of living?
The standard of living would go down. If everyone lived in their own country’s currency, then things would be fine for a while.
Eventually, though, economic stagnation would set in and almost everyone would suffer because there are no competitive products anymore.
People are working but aren’t making any money because the rich people are controlling the economy. This would lead to an economic collapse where everyone becomes poor again because of inflation.
If everyone became rich, then no one would be rich and there would be no middle class either.
The economy would collapse because people wouldn’t be able to afford anything and everyone who would buy something, won’t have enough money because the rich people will have all of it.
The people who would live absolutely fine with this system will probably be the ones that invest and the ones that work for the rich and manage their assets.
If everyone became rich, then we’d end up paying a lot of money to get housing, food and other services because there wouldn’t be any poor people anymore.
This could make absolutely everything cost a fortune. If the economy were still the same as it is now, then everything would end up being ridiculously expensive because there would be no competition anymore and people can charge whatever they want for their products/services.
What would happen to the environment?
If everyone became rich, then we’d probably see a drastic change in terms of pollution and sustainability.
There would be an incentive to cut down as many trees as possible because there is a lot of money being made from timber. Also, people wouldn’t feel bad about drilling out all the oil because there would be so much of it that it would have no value anymore.
In addition, everyone might start using more fossil fuels instead of renewable energy sources because they are cheaper.
The environment would be doomed if everyone became rich, there’d be nothing stopping anyone from exploiting it to their whim.
- Related post: The History Of Money and Its Evolution
- Related post: What Would the World Be Like If the Internet Were to Disappear
What would happen to the job?
If everyone became rich, then all the jobs would disappear because people wouldn’t need certain services or products anymore.
There would also be no more trade because everyone would already have everything either because they made it themselves or had someone else do the job for them.
There wouldn’t be any jobs in terms of commissions, though, so people who work on commission might suffer.
If everyone became rich, then most people would not work anymore; most of the tasks that are done today by humans could be done by machines.
Conclusion
If everyone became rich, then the economy would suffer. Crime rates would drop but it would create new problems in terms of standard of living and the environment.
Also, people wouldn’t be able to buy anything anymore if they didn’t invest or handle their money well because rich people would control everything.
The job market would completely collapse (because people wouldn’t need services) and there would be no motivation for people to work.
In conclusion, if everyone became rich then we’d find ourselves in a dystopia without any economic incentive and luxury for the ones that do have money.
