What is gold?

Word of caution: do not, I repeat DO NOT, watch Pursuit of Happiness after watching Into the Wild. The contrast is too much, too unbearable. But that is what I did a few months ago, and it made my mind go wild and I lamented the state of society.

While I love and adore the love and sacrifice Will Smith's character made for his son, I abhor the system that forced him into it. The system that caused him to believed in order to pursue happiness, one must submit to the 9 to 5 grind. Yes, he had to feed his son, and find housing, those are necessities. However I am confused in understanding how we as a society have so narrowly defined the only way to receive those things (food, housing, etc.) as having a career.

Now I want to add a clarify what I mean when I say career. There is nothing wrong with contributing to the good of society. Though I am sure that there would be thousands if not millions of opinions on what the good of society is. However, this in itself is not a career. I agree with Chris McCandless that a career is nothing more than a 20th Century invention. I also agree with his conclusion in submitting to this invention, "I don't want one". This is not to say that I don't want to work. Work is good, healthy. It provides a sense of accomplishment. It is how to get from A to B. It is the energy dispersed in finishing, or even starting, anything we put our hands to. You want to grow a garden? You prepare the ground, plant the seeds, add fertilizer, tend to the garden, and harvest the crop. All this is work.

While there are similarities between the two, there are also vast differences. Both provide rewards. Careers provide you with money, while work provides you with whatever the work itself produces. As in the example of a garden, the work would produce food. However, a career is different from work in that there is no correlation between the reward and the energy dispersed. One can spend their whole lives in a factory putting together cars and at the end of it all they will never reap a car. The input doesn't contribute to the output. And while yes, they do get a paycheck, which they can trade for a car, there is nothing that guarantees the time and energy exerted in building the car is the same as the selling price of the car for the one that help build it.

Am I proposing a bartering system? Possibly? I am not sure. While I am not sure the monetary system that we have created is the answer, I am not all to certain the bartering system of old is the way either. Though I do tend to lean that way. I am just stating that I feel there should be a equal dollar for dollar relationship between what one gives and receives.

However, this is where we run into problems. What is a dollar? It used to be a representation to the amount of gold our country had, though not so much anymore. But if we stick to that, then we beg the question, what is gold? What is gold other than a shinny rock someone a long time ago thought was pretty? Granted it is rare, and does hold to some practical purposes. But it's most important factor is that it is considered valuable. By who? For what? Jewelry? Ornamentation? When will we get to a place where we start appealing to other emotions besides greed?

We can and have. Take for example museums. For the sake of history and preserving the ancient world, we preserve gold and other artifacts. We allow gold that is already shaped by people who went before us who wouldn't care if we used it for other purposes to sit quietly on display. If we appeal to this desire of knowing our past, can we also appeal to the desire of knowing our future or having our future know us?

We apply worth to something based on our current situation. Take for example a $1 burger at the local Burger King. Two people are in line, one hasn't eaten in weeks, the other is your typical fat American. Though they are both paying the same $1, to which is the burger worth more? And if you add into the equation the probability of the one that hasn't eaten in two weeks may only have a few dollars while the other one is among the riches people in the world by merely having a bank account and a car, who is paying more for the $1 burger? Right, the one who needs it more and has placed higher worth on the burger.

I am reminded of a story of Alexander the Great. He was asked if he were dying of thirst in the desert what would he give for a glass of water. He replied he would give his whole kingdom for a glass of water. To this the man answered, why he was traveling so far for a glass of water.

I want to contribute to society and feel that I may in many ways already. I just am not yet ready to buy into what I perceive to be lies. Or if not lies, then foolish attempts to create a life. Take for instance the really, really free markets that are sprouting up all over the nation. I was part of the one here in Lansing back in April and plan on being a part of the one coming up later this month. An ingenious way to give to people and build community.