Entitlement

Entitlement is the misplaced belief that you deserve special treatment over other people because you’re better than them in some way. Prerogatives can take place consciously or unconsciously – either way this type of privilege can have a profoundly negative effect on an individual and societal level.

Picture the scene: a young person (in their twenties) is striding through a train when they near an old person (in their eighties) coming the other way. Without slowing down, without negotiation, the young person forces the old person to stop and give way, while they zoom ahead.

Age, race, gender, sex, sexuality, wealth, role, status, class – entitlement can rear its ugly head at any moment through a number of perceived divisions within our communities (coupled with a culture for rampant individualism). And yet as caring and invested citizens we can call out acts of entitlement, starting with our own.

There will be plenty of entitlements that we won’t even be aware of, if we haven’t taken the time to compare our liberties with those around us. For example, if you’re used to having a voice at meetings, perhaps it’s time to work out who isn’t getting a voice and letting them have some of your spoils?