In his critique of the rich, Thoreau uses a series of paradoxes that suggest that those who are in possession of great wealth actually have less than the poor:
But the rich man [...] is always sold to the institution which makes him rich. Absolutely speaking, the more money, the less virtue; for money comes between a man and his objects, and obtains them for him; and it was certainly no great virtue to obtain it. It puts to rest many questions which he would otherwise be taxed to answer; while the only new question which it puts is the hard but superfluous one, how to spend it. Thus his moral ground is taken from under his feet. The opportunities of living are diminished in proportion as what are called the “means” are increased.
Thoreau’s ironic language highlights the various paradoxes which are, for him, characteristic of the wealthy. “The rich man,” he writes, “is always sold to the institution that makes him rich.” Here, his language inverts the usual logic by which a wealthy businessman sells some product to the public, implying instead that it is the businessman who is for sale, a hired mercenary working on behalf of some company or institution. Next, he writes that “the more money, the less virtue,” an ironic reframing of the usual economic logic by which money is synonymous with value. In undercutting expected logic, Thoreau specifically employs situational irony.
Further, Thoreau claims that, rather than allowing a man to purchase commodities, money “comes between a man and his objects,” because it is the money rather than the man that truly purchases them. Finishing off this list of paradoxes and ironies, Thoreau argues that the more “means” a man possesses, the fewer “opportunities of living” he has. Ordinarily, one might assume that money increases an individual’s opportunities, but Thoreau insists instead that money limits an individual’s choices by tying them to responsibilities and institutions. In particular, those who have much to lose from revolution must remain loyal to the social institutions that guarantee their wealth, regardless of how unjust they are.
