Question probably says it all, but anyway, never one to use one sentence when ten will do…
Was talking with a friend last night about religion/culture and other general ‘putting the world to rights’ type stuff. We were talking at one point about our views on celebrities spending silly money on watches, cars etc
Some people of course think this is vulgar when there are so many starving people in the world etc, and others take the view of ‘it’s their money do what they want with it’.
This is a GQ though so let’s skip the debate of right and wrong, what i’m interested in is what different cultures/religions think of this. I seem to remember reading somewhere long ago something about a particular religion or culture embracing this kind of thing as showing success and having flashy cars would be a sign of this and something to be encouraged.
Can anyone tell me what religion/culture i remember reading about? What does everyone think the generally accepted position is in their religion/culture? I accept it is likely to be anecdotal and personal opinion but let’s not get moved to great debates, just facts about different countries, cultures religions please.
Wealth = power, and I can’t think of a single place where displays of power aren’t standard practice for practically everyone in the modern world. Image is everything.
Some more so than others, though, and the forms vary.
I seem to remember that in many cultures from the Indian subcontinent, it is very normal to show off as much gold as possible - it is the standard way of displaying how not-poor your family is. In some African cultures and IIRC Polynesia it is more about how much fat you can show off - everyone wants their kid to marry someone who is fat.
In the upper echelons of western society it is more about flaunting polo club memberships, butlers, antique furniture etc. than about having lots of bling and designer clothes, which is a more of a working-class phenomenon.
The Word of Faith movement comes immediately to mind. This is a subset of evangelical Christianity. Creflo Dollar and Benny Hinn are two US televangelists who subscribe to this faith. From Wikipedia, “Its central doctrine is that health and prosperity are promised to all believers, and are available through faith.”
Yeah, I think “all of them” is the answer, as well. “Wealth” might be counted differently in different cultures, and lip service might be paid to being “humble” about your wealth, but I’ve never heard of a culture where it’s really practiced.
In some cultures, “wealth” might be how many cattle you own, how many beads are on your clothes or how long your penis sheath is. It might be how many bedsheets and tablecloths your daughter brings with her when she’s married, or how many guests you can invite to her wedding and feed.
While there may be subsections of a culture who renounce wealth and live in poverty on purpose (generally for religious reasons), the culture as a whole still values wealth and displays of wealth by at least some of its members. It’s a huge part of how we measure status within a community, and the relative status of one community as compared with it’s neighbors. Humans are heirarchical creatures. Displays of wealth tell other people that you not only have enough to provide for the basic survival needs of yourself and your people, you have time and energy and material left over for non-practical stuff.
And even some of those who choose to live “simply”, have their own forms of wealth - a well made table or bit of lace, temple decorations and offerings, free time spent at prayer or doing charity work. A Shaker chair doesn’t have to have elegant lines and carved posts. The fact that is does demonstrates that the person who made it has enough “wealth” of time to make it beautiful, as well as useful, and that the person who owns it can afford to purchase something that’s not entirely practical, but also pretty.