“Me!” would be probably the first reaction of all most of the people.
Do you really want money? – if even now the answer is ” yes” then you are already a millionaire.
The truth is, only a tiny percent of mankind really wants money and these are the same people who own great material riches. I talked to some people who know personally the so-called Russian oligarchs (people who became incredibly rich and influential in a short time) – they say that it is the love for money as object that has driven them all to becoming so rich.
The truth is that an average citizen of any country is not really interested in money. Sure, no one would mind comforts and other benefits that money brings with. However it is a very seldom case that someone is interested in possessing huge sums of money as such. And the one who is obsessed with the idea usually gets it!
Why this?
I tend to believe that the profit–thinking and money orientation are rather unnatural for human beings. What is natural? The quest for love, happiness, creativity, health, comfort of body and soul… Again and again, working at the mids of moeny-making spheres (in my previous job – marketing, now- wealth management) I can see it so clearly: the quest for money is not at all at the core of a human nature. That is probably the reason for another truth – it is damn hard to find a good sales-manager! They are as rare as white tigers. Because most of the people don’t see any fun in sales – despite they feel sick of it.
Where I am heading at with that topic? I keep wondering about the power the profit-thinking/money obsession has over the humangs, being actually neither natural nor desirable by the majority of the Earth citizens? I keep wondering if a day will come when it will become not only obvious but also unbearable for humans. A day when the general needs will be satisfied and not multiplied madly like now.
I believe it is possible. And will happen one day. Probably even in my life time!
LOVE; axinia
axinia
1000 petals by axinia 
True Axinia… Whenever I think about earning more money, I always think about the discomforts it brings along with it…
but I believe that many people were behind money and power because they are the prominent people who feature in the news.. and making the headlines…
Money originally used to be a system of barter; along the way money has re-defined itself as something to possess itself.
KPBS has a great 4-hour series about the ascent of money, great to learn from a historical perspective:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/ascentofmoney/category/video/
thanks for the tip, will check it.
ajalota, the video is SUPERB! thanks a lot, I amy even make a separate post out of it, it is soooo good!
Superb post, Axinia! 🙂
As they say, The love of money is at the root of all evil!
One must note that it is NOT money itself that is at the root of all evil but rather it’s the love of money.
Any form of money (from primitive sea shells, tusks, hides of animals in the olden days to precious metals like gold and silver, from paper currency whose value can be manipulated by the crooked central banksters to newer forms of electronic currency) by itself is very useful since money is a storehouse of value that is widely accepted and exchanged. One cannot abandon the use of (some form of) money and go back to the barter system. But when people forget what money actually is and begin to think that money can buy anything in life, that’s when the problems begin.
I don’t have much respect for the Russian oligarchs, since most of them became rich not through hard work, but through shady deals with crooked politicians and highly corrupt bureaucrats to buy state-owned assets at outrageously low prices.
Anyway, I don’t think what you wish for will happen, not in the next decade, not in the next century, not in the next millennium! For as long as humans remain the lowly creatures 😡 that they have been throughout their history, this is something that is simply not possible 😐
Thank you Raj, your point is very good. That is exacle what I meant – the longing for money is what makes it sick.
And yes, I know you do not beloive in the betterment of humanity.
I do have some hope though 🙂 Lets see!
The quest for love, happiness, quest, creativity, health, comfort of body and soul – these are the exact things that people want to obtain through more money!
Destination Infinity
I was expecting that comment but not from you, DI 🙂
yes, we are brainwashed that we can obtain all that by money, but I think everyone actually knows it is not so…or at least learns it sooner or later.
unfortunately in today’s world, money means security, and we all need to feel secure, and thus we end up wanting money
Rmbler, that is an interesting point, thanks.
You know, here in Europe where social security is very high (even after losing your a job a person gets social help money for a long time) – you know how many people feel insecure? Where does this teenager agression all coming from ? From insecurity. TOday in the modern Western society insecurity is one of the biggest problems, and honestly – moneywise people have more than enough here.
I think insecurity comes from the lack of love. And that is a huge issue here… Having al needs covered and posessing more that one realy needs, they are desperate for love and warmth of heart.
And yes, I know you do not beloive in the betterment of humanity.
Axinia, I really hope that humanity betters itself. But I also know that it is beyond the lowly nature of humans to better themselves as a collective. I mean, if humans have only got worse, much worse over the course of several millenia, how do you expect them to change for the better im the course of a few years 😕
In my opinion, teenaged aggression is because of cowardice. A lone teenager may not be so aggressive as one in a gang. It’s always the nature of cowards to seek strength in numbers.
Recently all the crooked politicians, dictators and tyrants from the Third World met at a summit of the so-called “Non-Aligned Movement” in Egypt. This summit holds some significance for humankind, NOT because these Third Worlders have anything to contribute to the betterment of humanity.
It’s because, in a few years from now, there will be no First World as it exists now. The lowly tyrants, tin-pot dictators and crooked politicians from Third World pseudo-democracies, along with the criminals who are taking control of the First World want to erase any distinction between the First World and the Third World. And no, the Third World will NOT be brought up to the standards of the First World. Rather, the Frist World will be forcefully pulled down to the lowly standards set by the Third World. The process has already begun through the so-called “economic crisis”.
Like water, it is in the nature of lowly humans to descend to the lowest common level. What is certain is that, in a few years from now, the whole world will become one big and backward Third World sphere. The race to the bottom has already been set in motion, thanks to the Third World barbarians 😡 and the crooks 😡 who have gained control of the First World.
Actually, humanity is getting better as time progresses =)
Watch Hans Rosling’s talk on TED:
Life is getting better!
have you seen the link in the comment of ajalota? I wonder what you would say to it? 🙂
Ajalota,
That video was simply SUPERB! Thanks for providing the link! Ted has done a wonderful of putting the data in beautiful bubble graphical form – amazing! It’s an absolute must watch for anyone looking at world data.
Unfortunately, I haven’t watched the videos in your first link about money since they are long (about 1 hour each). I’ll watch them when I have more time. They sound very interesting indeed!
However, the data presented by Ted actually confirms my suspicions – that there is a huge chasm between the First World and the Third World. Sure, the performance of some countries such as South Korea, Singapore etc. is breathtaking and they have made a huge leap from the Third World to the First World in the matter of only two or three decades. Fantastic achievement – kudos to the enlightened leadership of such countries!
Most of the Third World countries have only managed to exhibit modest progress in the same time. China seems to be at the forefront of this “middle group” of the Third World. China’s progress is made more credible by the fact that it is bogged down by a huge population.
On the other hand, we have the “bottom group” of the Third World and this includes the usual suspects in SAARC and sub-Saharan Africa.
One point to note is that the data is only till 2003 and does not predict future trends, especially after the so-called “economic crisis”.
Throughout history, humankind has oscillated between making progress and sinking down badly. To be more specific, societies and civilisations have made tremendous progress and then suddenly sunk down to terrible lows. The reasons could vary from natural disasters/ecological change to man-made disasters like wars to epidemics etc.
One other reason why civilised societies have collapsed in the past is because they came into contact with less civilised barbarians who destroyed the civilisation of these societies and set them back by several decades, if not centuries. This is a characteristic feature of humankind – just like water, they tend to find the lowest common level 😡
Now, in the global village, we don’t have isolated societies at all (expect for loony dictatorships like North Korea). It is all one big place where the only difference is between the standards of the First World and the lowly standards of the Third World.
Unlike in the past, the less evolved Third World is not going to destroy the First World by physical means. (I even dare to call the Third World less civilised, since in terms of ethical and humanitarian ideas and principles, the Third World is exactly where the First World was eighty years ago. Of course, not everyone in the Third World or First World exhibit the characteristics of their respective societies, but it is generally true to a large extent.) The weapons that the less evolved humans have is called POPULATION.
It is a well known fact that, in nature, MORE advanced and evolved creatures breed at a much SLOWER RATE. Bacteria simply multiply by the trillions, algae by the millions, small insects multiply by the hundreds of thousands each year and so on.
Even among mammals, the lower ones like rats and pigs multiply at a furious pace. More advanced mammals like cats and dogs breed at a much slower pace while that of even higher mammals is even slower.
It’s the same with humans. Less evolved humans simply keep breeding at an alarming rate due to the relative lack of civilisation and the low status of women in Third World societies where they are usually regarded as “child producing machines”.
There is a BIG difference in the population growth rate (which depends on the rate at which humans breed and the death rate) between the relatively more evolved First World and the less evolved (let’s use the world “evolving”) Third World. While the population of the evolved world has stabilised and even started decreasing, the less-evolved humans keep adding more and more less-evolved humans like themselves to the world population. Since the evolving humans are about eighty years behind the evolved humans in terms of humankind’s principles and values, the world slowly sinks in terms of civilisational aspects. This is because the population of evolved humans is decreasing while that of evolving humans keep increasing at a rapid rate.
The result will be that in a few decades, if not years, down the line, the world (reduced to a big global Third World village) will resemble the scenarios depicted in novels like these:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Marching_Morons
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Idiocracy
While the above two books seem to describe the situation in terms of intelligence levels and IQs, I feel it will not be in terms of intelligence, but rather in terms of ethics, civilisational principles and humanity.
Humankind is headed backward for sure, the result of less-evolved Third Worlders gaining control of humankind due to their backwardness and alarming rate of breeding 😐
Oops, I meant to say, It’s always the nature of lowlife cowards to seek strength in numbers by ganging up with like minded crooks to bully others 😡
Oops, I meant to say, It’s always the nature of lowlife cowards to seek strength in numbers by ganging up with like minded crooks to bully others 😡
Sorry, forgot to add great post! Can’t wait to see your next post!
Axinia,
I’ll reply to ajalota after I watch the video. But this particular comment from someone calling himself/herself “An alien Earthling” was not written by me. Someone copied my previous correction comment and used my name to write his/her own comment 😐
ok, noted. That was also strange to me…you see you are getting so prominent that people copy you! 🙂
Axinia, while I DON’T claim to have exclusive rights to use the name “An alien Earthling”, I was also surprised why someone should copy the name and comment of an undesriable one like me 😐
Difficult idea to sell Axinia. But if people can realize that everything is transient, may be they won’t horde up so much money.
Btw, the super rich may not be as rich as they appear…they are into high-stakes game that is all. I believe to achieve anything, even money, one has to be a little indifferent to the very object of desire.
you are right, swaps, from the discussion here I can see it is indeed a not so easy to explain my idea 🙂
You belief about achieving any thig is basically correct, but in fact all rich people I know – i can not say they are indiffernt to it. They play with it, yes, but money is what they really love to acuummulate and grow.
I think money is a good thing when it is used properly for a good reason. I think people respect those wealthy ones and remember them through centuries for the good things they have done for humanity through their money. Like all those mecenates who donated their wealth toward creating art galleries or simply to support hungry artists. Or all the private founds set up for supporting orphans or to rescue endangered species and so on… I think it is alright to have a desire for the money if it is needed for the higher purposes. I think the motivation – to share the goods coming through money or to have it for oneself makes the huge difference… And the last one is really unhealthy one.
Nowadays, I have a feeling that in whole world the priorities started change slowly, but consistently. I feel that all-humane values like family and love are getting shifted up to the place they supposed to be – higher than money.
Ldinka_108, thanks for your noble believe in the wealthy people, I know very well what you mean.
The only point i want to highlight here – it is not the motivation to do something good for humanity that comes first. First , it is the desire for money. Later when they get rich, if they have a good heart, they like to share and donate…
I am so sure about that only for the reason that I personally know such people (our clients are VERY wealthy people, with millions and billions on their accounts). They are very ineresting personalities and I like to watch them. They do differ from me and you 🙂 I am glad I could have this possibility to study this phenomenon so close.
well, as you know, any strong desire with focused attention fulfills sooner or later. and of course strong desire ties person with attachment to the object of the desire. it turns into quest. and money quest is not an easy one. somewhere i have read the research on people who won lottery. absolute majority expressed unhappiness, disappointment and bad luck events in the lives after they have received the money. so, it is a reminder – be careful what you wish for, everybody 🙂
that is 100% true, thank you!
if one’s goal is really to make lots of money then it is really easy to achieve it: especially nowadays there are plenty of opportunities! but of all thepeople i know they all have everything materially (job,house,food, clothes), they are all stable and good from this point of view. i dont think they truly run behind money in an mad way..
nirmalamagazine, I agree with you that today there are really plenty of opportunities to become rich! My point was that only the ones who REALLY want it, become so. The rest only likes to dream or talk about it…
As for the people you know (“they have everything materially -job,house,food, clothes) – that is not the category I meant. I also have everything 🙂 But I meant people who are at least millioniers – and they have a different mindset, believe me.
can u please email me. over the summer i met a russian man and i want to get your scoop on the russian man. I really like this man . he is younger than me. he was very different than the american man i am used to . I am interested in learing more about how a russian man thinks and operates. what they like and dont like. please write me …thanks
Germany like the US is are special places to me, as much of the best and worst in the world has come from these two nations. I suppose this could be said of Russia too 🙂 I love Germany and Germans, there is quality there which takes time to earn but when you do the appreciation of it is so much greater. I guess being part German, Danish, Dutch, Norwegian and Russian who has lived in the US long, and has a special fondness for the Irish and Australian might cause me to have less fear, and more love for this country than many others. How beautiful it is to see beauty where so few can, you have a real gift, and I am grateful you share it. THANK YOU.
Strange. Sorry this apply appeared here. It was suppose to be on the post you had about love for Germany. I probably made a mistake sorry for the confusion. Anyway I love Germany. But I would not trade spirituality for any amount of Money, materialism I think takes focus away from the things which are most beautiful.