Financial Disparity Affects Friendship I believe anything existing in the world is connected with each other in some certain ways. According to this point, financial disparity must have something to do with friendship and it must cause some consequences of friendship in an unnoticeable way. However, its influences can be categorized into different levels by the genres of its object – friendship.
There are three kinds of friendship: the first based on mutual benefits, the second planted in common interests, and the third brooded out of admiration and respect. And the effect of the financial disparity will accordingly decrease in this order.
In this world of materials, most of the benefits have to be gained by money. The amounts of money mark the status quos of people. If there is a financial disparity between two persons who want something from each other, their friendship can’t last long because the one with less financial income if unable to continue offering something that the other in a higher rank of society needs. Don’t take no notice of however little disparity. Once one side fails to be helpful, their day-to-day alliance ceases. So for such kind of friendship, the imbalance in finance affects greatly.
Stepping onto the second level, although it does not result in prompt influence, still the financial disparity presents its power by grouping the ones who have the common interests in the first place. People under different financial conditions have different demands for their common interests. The one who earns more prefers to enjoy better facilities and services which are beyond the one that earns less. Their friendship based on their common interests may be sustained through participatory enjoyment. But most of the cases, such friendship will not be strong enough to call both sides to help each other as friends of the third level.
As the supreme level of friendship, their sources are admiration for the other’s personality, morality or ability and respect for the other’s free will. Between such friends, there is a belt of thoughts that pulls the two souls closer to each other with words from heart. Such nice feelings and emotions are free from any dispute caused by financial disparity. Marx and Engels were the greatest leaders of communist revolutions. And they held a life-lasting admiration towards each other. Marx had no money. It was Engels that continued supporting him and his writing with bread and encouragement. Financial disparity is not even a bug to bother them. And in ancient China, such profit-proof friendship mushroomed as all Chinese people appreciate. The friendship or mostly brotherhood overcame social status and wealth. For one’s friend, one can devote one’s life and family, let alone gold. In Chinese, such friend is called “zhiji” which means one’s friend who knows and understands oneself among the best.
So, different kinds of friendship will be affected in different degrees by financial disparity. And we should treat them sensibly and check from time to time what kind of friendship we have with others by examining the effect of financial disparity. |