Attitudes towards the rich in China, Japan, South Korea, and Vietnam

This article is based on representative surveys conducted in China, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam as part of the ongoing The Rich in Public Opinion project. While in Western countries 28 per cent of respondents say it is important for them to become rich, in the surveyed Asian countries the figure is 58 per cent. Social envy directed at the rich is much lower in Japan, South Korea and Vietnam than in Europe and the United States, while in China it is at a similar level to that in some Western countries. In particular, popular attitudes towards the rich are far more positive in Japan, South Korea and Vietnam than in Western countries, while in China they are more similar to those in Europe.