Casmin Bui Week 11: Money is Power
Power in society is unfair. And whether that is a controversial take or not, I want you to think of one of the most powerful people you can think of. For me, I thought of Donald Trump or other world leaders, because they control the country so they must be the most powerful. But how do they acquire that power?
There are two categories: people who get power because of their money, or people who get money because of their power. Regardless, the amount of wealth someone holds has a direct relation to how much power they have over others. There are not many cases of people who have loads of power but no money (there are still some exceptions!). Elon Musk is an example of the common theme. He’s now known as the richest man on earth, owning many major corporations: Tesla, X, SpaceX, and the list goes on. You could say he got his fame from his companies along with gaining authority from his close bond with the president, but I’m starting to recognize a pattern between some of the highest regarded figures in our society.
People say you need to step on someone to get to the top, and I think to some extent, that’s unfortunately accurate. Risk is the main factor here. Just like the stock market, you need the timing and sanity to be able to put almost all of your funds into a gamble which sets you apart from striking gold or being dirt poor in the blink of an eye. So it makes sense that people make immoral decisions and risks just to get to the top. Though of course, it doesn’t apply to everyone. I like how people use the term “dirty money” to compare billionaires. According to a study conducted by researchers from Harvard and the University of Utah, they found that even thinking about money can lead to lying and immoral behavior. So why are we rewarding unethical behavior? Conveniently, the people with the most money have the most power and control over our societies. So how do we expect these leaders to understand the state of our society when they live unaffected by any of the decisions they make?
I wonder how our world would be if our wealth was measured based on our morals. What do you think? Do you think there’s a solution that we can apply to our modern society to prevent this corruption? I acknowledge that there are representatives for lower classes, but in this day and age, it still feels like we're overpowered often.
I love the way that you start your blog with a short, simple statement: “Power in society is unfair.” And although that simplifies the entire situation, it does it perfectly. Because that’s the cold, hard truth. As much as politicians or society in general works toward creating a world in which everyone is born equal and is given equal opportunities, they’re not. You’re absolutely right when you discuss the fact that the “amount of wealth someone holds has a direct relation to how much power they have.” We’ve all heard the saying, “Money makes the world go round,” but we’ve also heard, “Money doesn’t buy happiness.” I completely agree with the first one, since the only way that you can buy products, make a living, feed yourself and your family is through the exchange of money with other parties. Now the latter saying, that’s a bit more complicated. I think that to a certain extent, it can buy happiness. If you don’t have money, you can’t buy food, basic necessities, and other requirements to live a simple life. Those, in turn, can make the quality of life better, and therefore you, happier. Throw in the occasional splurge for personal happiness, and you’ve got yourself a fine deal. However, once you reach the amount of money that billionaires have, how you get there becomes so much more important. Like you mention, a majority of these people make immoral and illegal decisions to achieve their current standing, and if you have any morals or self-respect left over, you might not be as happy as you would be with a mid-to-high salary and a stable life. People with an insane amount of money do have an insane amount of power to do absolutely whatever they want, so maybe that helps ease the pain. You also ask a very interesting question at the end of your blog, and I would be very interested to see who would turn out to be the wealthiest. Taking out the practical issues of accurately measuring morals, I personally think that the whole world might just turn upside down.
ReplyDeleteHi Casmin! I think it would be amazing if “wealth was measured based on our morals.” But, in my perspective, the purpose of money acts as a motivator to improve the country. Of course, it would make society better if money could motivate us to become kinder individuals. However, this does not improve our country’s economy though. Money is a means to enforce society to work at a job and support our country. It lets us have the manufactured goods that we use on a daily basis and is honestly something that I and many others would never be able to give up. Unfortunately, hearing the researchers from Harvard and the University of Utah finding how when people think about money, it may “lead to lying and immoral behavior” is not shocking. It is also very disappointing to see how the term “billionaires” exist because they simply control too much of the population. This obscene amount of wealth comes from a byproduct of Capitalism because while they fuel economic growth through jobs and investment, they also create significant economic inequality. It reminds me about my history class where we learned about Industrialists and had to determine if they were Robber barons or Captains of Industry. Overall, this blog helps highlight how paradoxical the current power structure is and how there is very little logic in “rewarding unethical behavior.” Thank you for this eye-opening blog Casmin!
ReplyDeleteI think that people born into money are the ones who gain power and vice versa. Money and power are adjacent concepts: a person who seeks power also seeks money, reinforcing both things simultaneously.
ReplyDeleteI had a conversation with Shari yesterday which related to this. The way she put it is that rich people rarely find happiness because they only become more consumed by greed as they amass more wealth. Such a destructive tendency is bound to produce immoral behavior; many corporate heads, for example, will abuse workers to cut costs.
Your blog this week reminds me of the one you wrote a few weeks ago about Azula from ATLA. Even though Azula does not explicitly seek money, she still shows how those at the top are always driven to want more power. I think that this is inherent to the human psyche–nothing is ever enough for us. Humans want to grow bigger and bigger, smashing everything in the way until we eventually self-destruct.
And of course, there will always be more unjustified, heinous things which the rich manage to get away with. The Epstein files, a global sex-trafficking network, was kept under the radar for decades through bribery, and people like Donald Trump can STILL hold office after being implicated. It’s ridiculous that they aren’t being held accountable.