The pursuit of wealth

[HydrogenBond]

Money is morally neutral. It is a means for exchange that can be used to do good or evil. The pursuit of wealth allows one to accumulate money and therefore allows one to maximize choices. If one wishes to endulge whims, do good, have friends, have power, attract primo mates, break the law or even do evil, money allows one the ability to find a niche for that desire. Money also allows one's opinion to carry more weight.

 

With wealth allowing the widest potential to human expression, is the pursuit of wealth the highest form of human expression?

 

The pursuit of wealth is not new. It has been around since almost the beginning of civilization. Does this mean that the highest human expression developed early and all the rest, including modern pursuits, are all second string?

[pgrmdave]

Depending on your definition of "wealth", I suppose this could be true. I think that the majority of people do strive for wealth. However, I'd suggest you look at Maslow's pyramid. People will strive to survive first, and this preempts all other drives (usually, there are some exceptions). People also, like all other lifeforms, strive to reproduce themselves. Humans also attempt to maintain their offsprings' lives. This will also often surpass the desire to aquire wealth. Religion also throws a wrench into it, but I can't find any good way to account for that.

[Queso]

Everyone has their own form of wealth.

 

Whether it's money, wisdom

or both.

[HydrogenBond]

For the sake of argument, let us assumes that the pursuit of wealth is the highest human expression, since the result allows one to maximizes free choices in culture.

 

A paradox appears. If you compare whether the pursuit of wealth is maximzed by being lawful or lawless, it is maximized by lawlessness. In other words, if one could break laws, such as tax evasion, insider trading, fraud, stealing, black market tax exemptions, etc., everything else being equal, this would allow one to maximize the pursuit of wealth.

 

If we look at ethics. These are sort of like laws but lack enforcement at the level of the criminal justice system. Irronically, unethically behavior will also maximize the pursuit of wealth compared to ethical behavior. If one could trim the workforce to only part timers to avoid paying benefits, this would maximize revenue. It is not illegal but may be considered unethical.

 

The next layer is truth. Lying, half-truths and illusions allow one to maximize the pursuit if wealth better that pure truth. A used car saleman who says the car is a dog (truth) would make less wealth than one who says it purrs like a kitten (lie).

 

All things being equal, lawlessness, unethical behavior and lack of complete truth, irronically allow this highest form of expression to maximize itself better than legal, ethical and purely truthful behavior. The former has more options while the latter is more limited.

 

How is it possible that the highest ideal of human endeaver benefits the most from the lowest forms of human behavior? If one was of a caveman mentality, with little connection to law due to impulse and lack of focus, no ethics beyond, "mine, mine all mine" and out of touch with reality and truth because they live in a mythological world, they would be able to maximize the pursuit of wealth better than a modern lawful person, with a high standard of ethics, who live by the whole truth. Weird?

 

I am not saying that the pursuit of wealth is unlawful, unethical or untruthful because it can live by the opposite code. What I am saying is, all things equal, it benefits and is able to maximize its expression via lawlessness, lack of ethics and lack of truth.

 

Orbsyci mentioned wisdom. This is valued lower by most people, yet it maximizes itself by lawfulness, ethics and truth. Weird?

[pgrmdave]

There is a catch to unlawful behavior, though. If one is discovered (which is an ever-present risk), the losses can be worse than the gains. I can gain more from stealing from you than working with you in the short run, but I have made an enemy, and you won't help me if I should need it later. This is one reason why lawfulness, kindness, ethical behavior, and things like that can be more profitable then the reverse.

[Boerseun]

Money is simply an extremely portable expression of power. The more money you have, the more powerful in society you are.

 

So my guess is that the pursuit of money (after survival has been taken care of) is simply people doing what people have been doing since the first homo erectus decided to get out of the tress, and that's to strive for the position of alpha male. Women have been participating in this game in bigger and bigger numbers since their emancipation, but in my humble opinion it's all about power.

 

Think about it: Why would Warren Buffet still do what he does best? Why not retire? How many billions is enough to survive? Simple. There are still one or two individuals with more money than him, and he needs to beat them first before he's the supreme alpha male. But even if he doubles his current nett worth, it will make zero change in his life. Twice as much as what he has now is twice as redicilous. He can't even spend a tenth of his current wealth before he croaks of old age, yet he still keeps on making money. It's all about the power.

[Back2Reality]

We should "make poverty the future"! Consumerism is killing the planet. Instead of Chinese having cars, the whole world should get back to walking, going by bike, horses, etc.

[ErlyRisa]

Muny MunyMunyMunyMunnnie!! (the apprentice)

well - why do you need munie?

An apprentice of not even 100years ago didn't need it.

 

 

.He did if he wanted to buy some.

 

But he could have taught through example... and as his flock grows... they can provide for him.

 

.That's a different tp= of prentce though. Flocks don't need money they need shearing, or replanting (are they perennial?). But the type I speak of isn't necessarily so godly - rather goes to the town and gets some, and for that, you need money - no bad hair, but money.

 

but buy havin Orange hair and being G3 mobile your flock may provide what you need without you even requesting it. When your flock though happens to stumble upon your nest egg, then be prepared to join the Blue Man group.

 

stolen from anudder forum.... moooh!! -got milk?