2. Is it desired to have such huge amounts of money?
Having such wealth which is reguarly advertised by the media displayed in front the masses, showing a lifestyle of luxury and glamour is one constant reminder of those who have more wealth than others. It makes other people feel poorer. This is an example of social status in society dictated according to the wealth and luxury the person lives rather than the value the person brings to the peoples’ wellbeing.
Financial security is one persistent struggle many people live up against. Having a basic security to a modest lifestyle is a great comfort to have. Having this basic need is hard for many reasons. A few are:
- Perception of what a modest life is being constantly altered through the media
- The richer people making others feel poor by huge wealth gap
- The richer being able to control the poorer peoples life choices
- Government managed financial systems managing the value of your money through interest, and taxes
- Pressure from companies marketing making you feel that your lifestyle is not good enough
It is known once a person has a certain amount of regualar income, then more than this is not proprotionate to the increase in the happiness or contentment they have. Poorer people often have more content lives due to the restrictions they have than rich people with all the options in the world. Valuing what you have is more important than valuing how much more than others you can have.
In western economies once an income of a certain amount is reached, more than this brings less life value and satisfaction no matter how much you increase the wealth by. Once you have a certain amount of wealth, more will have no more meaningful impact on the sense of well being a person has. There is only so much time available in life, enjoying each part of it takes time, energy and investment. The most valued sense of more wealth comes from little steps of being able to do a little more with what you already have. 1 more holiday day in a year, an additional 100 euros a month, which you can make meaningful additions to the life you already have. These small steps are much more valuable than huge increases in wealth.
The false belief that excessive wealth will bring happiness is a long lived lie. It is more about financial stability that brings contentment, not having more than other people.
Rich people are commonly viewed as dysfunctional people that rely on excessive wealth to alleviate problems, yet they are also percived as vitally important people for economies and employment.