| This question <13|19> overall <17|19> Dyoung: <700|110>. graded A |
| Question 8: Can one say that happiness is the only true wealth? |
| [18] Dyoung: I agree with [10], but I would go further. Wealth may or may not actually deliver the things that enhance human life, wealth is simply an accumulation of capital. I would answer the question that happiness and wealth have been tied together in the past, but I feel that they in reality are too different to be associated one with another. |
| Hans: Do you consider the association between wealth and use-values to be outdated? Marx would say that this old-fashioned wealth is the content of material wealth in every society, while the modern dynamic and one-dimensional monetized wealth is the social form of this wealth in capitalism. |
| [18] Dyoung: For example you say, “These conditions for a good life do not necessarily make you happy, but if they are missing, then it is much more difficult to be happy.” I interpret this as there are some things only attainable through wealth that ease your burdens in life and allow you to be more happy or to accumulate happiness quicker. I feel that happiness is created by a person depending on what makes them happy, so while this definition may work for those people who need to have the latest fashion accessories to be happy, it won't work for someone who only needs a tent and the great outdoors to be happy. For them the amount of wealth they have does not affect their accumulation of happiness. |
| Hans: Needing weatherproof homes with furniture, water and electricity is not the same as being addicted to the latest fashion accessories. |
| [18] Dyoung: Basically I am arguing that you make happiness subjective on wealth, while I feel it is subjective on “happiness causing items” which may or may not be tied to wealth. |
| Hans: Marx's definition of wealth not only covers extravagant things but very mundane items like bathtubs, water heaters, mattresses. |
| [18] Dyoung: Also, if you look at wealth objectively then you don't just see the ugliness of our society, you also see the good things people can and do do with money. |
| Hans: Why not let those who create the wealth decide how it is to be used? |
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