The saying, "A fool and his money are soon parted" holds true. It only takes a quick look at people who win the lottery and end up worse off years later to realize this. Does it necessarily mean people who throw away money are foolish, or are they out of touch with reality? I'd argue the two are not the same.
The Fool
Those who are foolish aren't typically foolish in just financial matters. They tend to be foolish in multiple aspects of their lives, sometimes described as lacking common sense.
I think there is a difference between this, ignorance and being naive. Ignorance is simply not knowing, but this can be corrected through learning from mistakes and education. Likewise, being naive can be corrected in the same ways. The fool, however, learns nothing from their mistakes, gleans no wisdom from their experiences, and continues to repeat these errors. I think a small percentage are truly fools, but I think most people are simply ignorant or naive and become less so with experience.
The Out of Touch
The out-of-touch people are different. They're no fool. They have gleaned some wisdom from their experiences. They may not be the most street smart person, but they've learned some things from past mistakes. The difference is they get to a point in life where they take things for granted.
An example I came across recently was a user by the name of "Sinatra," in a Discord chat created as an invite-only club for people who play Raid: Shadow Legends. Most of the players spend money, and some so much so that your average person would raise an eyebrow. Then again, some of them can afford it.
The company who makes the game, Plarium, has been forming a trend of not thoroughly testing new character mechanics, game modes, etc., and ends up altering them after players have already spent resources and money in events and tournaments to get these characters. Plarium never offers an apology or compensation, and when players raise criticisms about this they're dismissed, berated by other large spenders, etc. Sinatra went so far as to let everyone know he would buy an in-game pack every time someone complained.
He's likely not stupid, because if what he says is true about his income, he likely earned it rather than inheriting it. At the same time, you can see that not all cylinders are firing here as they should. Then again, if money is no object and it doesn't affect him, why should he care how badly the company treats anyone, so long as it doesn't affect him, right?
The truth is these people are out of touch with reality. It's easy to dismiss someone on the other side of a screen when you don't have to say it to their face. As people lose touch with reality, they lose empathy for others and, in my opinion, face a fate far worse than the fool as they alienate themselves from others with their apathy.
What Do We Do?
The best way to fight this is to engage with people face to face. For introverts like myself, that takes a little more energy than I care for, but it's necessary. When we lose that connection to others, we risk going down a path we can't return from.
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