MAMEWorld Forums - The Loony Bin - Re: interesting question?

> I heard this recently (I am sure we have all heard it at one point). Just give
> everyone 1 million dollars and the world would be a better place.
>
> I will change it up a bit. Give everyone 1 billion (hey if we are giving out crazy
> amounts lets do it right). What would happen?
>
> I have some ideas. What do you you guys think would happen?
>
> Keep in mind whatever you do everyone would probably be doing about the same thing.

We live in a commercial capitalist society that educates us to associate the value of life with how much money we have, the things we can buy, the places we live, the clothes that we wear. They do this not because it enriches life in any significant way, they do it because we all grow, programmed to consume and feed money back into the machine. it preserves the status quo and allows the people and corps in control to remain so.
Take away all of the smoke and mirrors, though and the value of life has very little to do with money. Other than the security it brings in not having to worry about food and shelter, virtually everything else we value is derived from what we are doing and who we are doing it with. Some of my happiest memories go all the way back to when I was a student, living on virtually f**k all and time spent with the wife and kids.

Looking back on most of your happy memories will evoke situations you spent with friends and family, children and the like. Lifes happiest memories are rarely allied to material things because the reality is we need very few of them. Just a lot of people are raised to associate material wealth with happiness, yet they largely get more miserable the older they get without really knowing why. Its the journey that's fun, if you're born into money and grow without anything to strive for, then material wealth is exposed for the pointless, hollow and non life affirming thing that it is. There is afterall only one direction left to go from the top of the mountain.

If you woke tomorrow to find yourself the only soul left on earth, you could have access to, and use absolutely anything you wanted, you could drive the best cars, live in the finest houses, eat the best food, fill your life with every conceivable luxury, what value would it have? how much would you enjoy yourself? how long could you enjoy yourself for without anyone to share the experience with or view your achievements?

So it makes no difference if everyone is equally wealthy or equally poor. In terms of life it has absolutely no meaning whatsoever, people who live and enjoy life will still do so and those who don't still won't. Your access to 'stuff' is irrelevant.