answer:In very general terms, it has been observed by many writers and thinkers that “the poor” are generally more ethical and better-behaved than the very well off. And there seems to be some truth to that, at least to a point. That point is “survival”. When people are so poor – or desperate, for whatever reason – then manners (which are an indication of morality) go out the window for them, too. When the lifeboat is down to the last few sips of fresh water and the sun is burning and there’s no real hope or expectation of immediate rescue, then all bets are off regarding who might attempt to steal those last few sips. As another general observation of my own, it’s not usually rich people who participate in riots or looting behavior, either. So there’s that in their favor. After all, choosing to participate in a mob and then escalate to a riot – or not – is an exercise of moral choice, too. My own experience has been that if you treat “normally well-behaved” people reasonably well in normal circumstances, then they will treat you the same, assuming you’re not a criminal, and they’re not. And on a retail level, that seems to be irrespective of levels of wealth or poverty (or the perception of those things, which is not the same thing).