RICH and POOR

Arguments from wealth and arguments from poverty are two types of arguments from authority. The words of the rich are valued – because they are rich – and the words of the poor are valued – because they are poor. The rich and the poor are then taken at their word, and their words are used as arguments from authority. A speaker can validates a position by putting it in the mouth of a rich or poor person, see authority; commonplace.
Both arguments are common and equally powerful.

The Wealth Argument, or “Top People” Argument

The argument from wealth is the basis of a family of discourses that elaborate on the key issue.

She is rich, so what she says is true. I consider her advice authoritative. She made the best financial decision. She has an exceptional artistic taste, as evidenced by the value of her collections. I vote for her!

This argument easily extends from the wealthy to the upper class, ruling class, and the most glamorous and lucrative professions. It could be called “the top people” argument.

The Poverty Argument: Appeal to the “People Down Below”

The poverty argument is similar to the wealth argument. It validates a language of authority derived from poverty: “The poor are right”:

The poor are good, because they have no money, and those who have no money have no vice; they are not corrupt; their words are is authentic; they are the repositories of common sense; their opinions are fundamentally sound.

Like the wealth argument, the argument of poverty extends beyond the poor to all “the people down there”, that is the exploited proletariat, the dominated, and the lower 10%, as well as to the country people, who live close to nature (naturalistic argument), or to tramps as as wise philosophers … The truth comes out of their mouths, as it does out of the mouths of  children.

The saying vox populi vox dei, “the voice of the people is the voice of God”, which underlies the ad populum argument, is based on the poverty and number argument

These arguments differ from the appeal to money, or the wallet argument, which is related to the punishment and reward argument, see threat and promise.