The value of money

“Self respect is a question of recognizing that anything worth having has a price”

Everything we own has a value. Monetary value.

But the value of money in itself lies in the happiness that it is able to buy its beholder. What is the price of such happiness? Is more money = more happiness? Is it a simple direct proportion? Let us explore…

Dear Dairy, I saw an Aeroplane toy today at the exhibition. Wow, it was awesome! It also makes sounds and flashes lights. There is also a remote control to make it move around. I will pester mummy and daddy to buy that one. Just imagine how happily I could play with that toy. If only…..

Dear Dairy, Today, I saw Shakeel playing with the Play Station 2. There is a cool 3D Aeroplane game and you could shoot down all the enemy planes. You can also play multiplayer racing with friends. Looks real fun! And look at me, I am just having a boring remote controlled toy!! If only…..

Dear Dairy, My best friend is traveling by plane today! Just imagine – Chennai to Delhi in just under three hours! And the journey itself, so thrilling along with the airports, ambience, great food, air hostesses…. Wow! And look at me, all I can do is play with a stupid Aeroplane video game! If only…..

Dear Dairy, My boss always travels in Business Class. In the best of the brands. Just imagine, you are traveling and next to you could be Dhoni or Amir or anyone like that! Imagine the comforts and the services…. If you fly, you have to fly like a king! And look at me, all I can do is travel long hours along with hoards of people in eight seater compartments where the chairs don’t even bend back! If only…..

Dear Dairy, My client has his own chartered flight. Just imagine, he can fly anywhere to anywhere without having to bother about the tickets, schedules and all the other mundane things. And I am not even factoring the neighbor’s envy! And look at me, I spend almost quarter of all my available time on flights and airports – either waiting for them, or flying in them! If only…..

Dear Dairy, The Russians are sending people to the space on paid trips! Just imagine the thrill of being a space tourister. I mean, how many people can afford that? Just imagine, floating in a near zero gravity condition and looking at the earth from the space, what a splendid sight and opportunity that could be! That is what I would call a tour!! And look at me, I am still traveling in a plane! I mean, who doesn’t have a chartered plane these days? If only…..

Dear Diary, Today was my first space trip. No words could express my feelings when I was floating up there. And do you know how I felt when I first saw the earth from above there? At that moment, I felt like… I am not able to express my emotions through words… like a kid, who is presented with a toy Aeroplane with remote control, which he has been wanting for months! I was so happy!!

Such Creeps, we are!

 

Destination Infinity

 

12 thoughts on “The value of money

  1. Gargi Dixit

    Money is a tool of exchange, which can't exist unless there are goods produced and men able to produce them. Money is the material shape of the principle that men who wish to deal with one another must deal by trade and give value for value. Money is not the tool of the moochers, who claim your product by tears, or of the looters, who take it from you by force. Money is made possible only by the men who produce.

    Just because you want a toy (which is an aeroplane, doesn't make any sense. The aeroplane/toy was MADE by someone. It is His Freedom either to trade with you, or not to. You have freedom, either to trade with him or not to. You have freedom to make your own toy too. it is about freedom, your freedom, and freedom of that toymaker.
    You make your goods, you gather your price by same freedom principle. You sell them (goods or services )voluntarily to those with whom you agree to trade with freely, who are ready to trade with by their consent. They give you a price you agree with it.

    Your friend is moving on aeroplane and you are playing with toy. Are you jealous of his success? that he made or got better trading?

    What about this, one of the two friend got first rank in Maths olympiad entrance at Delhi, other friend failed even in 11th class exams. no big deal, all are not good in maths. the first man got a chance to fly overseas on a toy named aeroplane to partcipate for main Math Olympiad. He risked all his strenght his parents managed money for his trip by taking loans from bank, and he flew away to face the exam, the other friend was playing with a toy aeroplane on bed at that time.

    The first friend suceeded in athens too, and got prize money, he returned all his loans and made his future. The other friend started painting. Trying to get hold on brushes.He had talent. people understood his talent. they valued him, bought his paintings freely,. he decided the price of trade, and now he can also trade with the aeroplane service providers to fly on the sky.

    When you accept money in payment for your effort, you do so only on the conviction that you will exchange it for the product of the effort of others. It is not the moochers or the looters who give value to money. Not an ocean of tears not all the guns in the world can transform those pieces of paper in your wallet into the bread you will need to survive tomorrow. Those pieces of paper, which should have been gold, are a token of honor–your claim upon the energy of the men who produce. Your wallet is your statement of hope that somewhere in the world around you there are men who will not default on that moral principle which is the root of money

    Have you ever looked for the root of production? Take a look at an electric generator and dare tell yourself that it was created by the muscular effort of unthinking brutes. Try to grow a seed of wheat without the knowledge left to you by men who had to discover it for the first time. Try to obtain your food by means of nothing but physical motions–and you'll learn that man's mind is the root of all the goods produced and of all the wealth that has ever existed on earth.

    "But you say that money is made by the strong at the expense of the weak? What strength do you mean? It is not the strength of guns or muscles. Wealth is the product of man's capacity to think. Then is money made by the man who invents a motor at the expense of those who did not invent it? Is money made by the intelligent at the expense of the fools? By the able at the expense of the incompetent? By the ambitious at the expense of the lazy? Money is made–before it can be looted or mooched–made by the effort of every honest man, each to the extent of his ability. An honest man is one who knows that he can't consume more than he has produced.

    Francisco D Anconio.

  2. vishesh unni raghuna

    lol 🙂 guess the above commenter has said what my comment would have been(no not that long) 🙂

  3. Destination Infinity

    @Gargi: //An honest man is one who knows that he can't consume more than he has produced.// That is exactly what the quote at the beginning of the post says, but in different words.

    My point of writing this post was to say that happiness is a relative quantity and it is not directly proportional to the amount of money made by someone.

    @Vishesh: Your comments are not that long, generally. Only your posts are 🙂

    Destination Infinity

  4. Gargi Dixit

    The sane nessage was needed at the end of your post, thats why I posted it to remove any chance of misunderstanding and dishonesty!

  5. Solilo

    Money can by enjoyment but it can't buy emotions. You are right about "happiness is a relative quantity and it is not directly proportional to the amount of money made by someone."

    But still all of us working hard to reach somewhere is also not just for self satisfaction but money too.

    I liked how you ended your post 🙂

  6. Chirag

    I echo @Solilo.
    Conspicuous consumption takes us a bit too far. Money is a tools facilitating needs and wants. Tab is when we become creeps on Money.

  7. Nimmy

    🙂

    We never reach the limit of 'Enough'..The term satisfaction is a relative one and we are very happy pushing its limits further and further..

    i liked your post,you said it beautifully,in a flow..

    Good day

  8. Amit

    Well, we are all like that. The moment one of our dreams gets fulfilled, we move on to the next one. I wonder if there is any limit to it? I guess there isn't.

  9. Destination Infinity

    @Solilo: Exactly, people are working hard for money. And they don't know what to do when they make a lot of them! It is a strange belief that making money in itself would bring a lot of fun unless some one is hopelessly addicted to that idea. For the amount of time we spend on making money, we are not really doing justice to how it ought to be spent/ not spent. That was the concept I was trying to explore in the post.

    @Chirag: That's correct, Chirag. Becoming creeps on money is one point that I wanted to highlight. People ask you how much you make but never judge you on how you spend the amount that you make. You could earn 80000 rupees a month and spend 60000 in useless gadgets, its still ok and people just don't explore on that point (Especially we ourselves)!!

    @Nimmy: It is actually good to keep pushing our limits. It gives us a lot of skills. But to measure the result on absolute 'exchange tool' like money, hoping that just making a lot of money would make us happier and happier, is something which I wanted to highlight.

    @Amit: It is actually good, to go on and on. If all our dreams get fulfilled, we could become very bored. But instead on focusing on the means (quality of work) and results (enjoyment/satisfaction) we just focus on the medium of exchange that is money!!

    Destination Infinity

  10. Amitabh

    The post reminds me of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. The character, Francisco, launches into a monologue on "money" that goes on for several pages. I think no one has better expressed what money represents or why is it so important. Yet when Ayn Rand committed suicide in a hotel room, I wonder what was going through her mind.

    In any case … happiness is state of mind. So, perhaps money has a limited role to play beyond a certain point (definition of certain point, someone). If so, then I would rather be happy with pots of money, rather than no money, thank you.

    Oh! By the way, money changes form, did you know?

    Cheers!

  11. rampantheart

    You said it right. I would replace the word "Creeps" with "hypocrites". But you shouldnt have generalised after all! Happiness itself is an illusion. It's the state of tranquility that's the absolute reality. I can go on and on, but don't want to. A few things in life are better left unsaid.

    1. Destination Infinity

      Till now, I don't know the meaning of creeps. But looking at the usage of that word in english movies, i think it could be a swear word. 🙂 So, maybe I should have used hypocrites!

      I don't know if you will come back here, but if there are certain chemicals that could cause happiness in our brain, do you think that artificially injecting them into our brain (by some methodology in future) could let us be always happy? And yes, blogs are for saying what ever you want to, and hence don't hesitate. I would have like to read your views on this subject. Actually I learn a lot from my commenters!

      Destination Infinity

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