Today, sees the publication of the annual Sunday Times Rich List. As its name suggests, it is a league table of the richest people in the UK.
According to news reports, it seems those listed this year, have seen their fortunes decline over the past 12 months. Those fortunes have suffered heavily through falling property valuations, a decline in retail spending and all the other effects of an economic downturn
What surprises me, however, is that we still care about who is the richest in the list, how they are coping, or the value of their present wealth; they are still super rich by anyone's standards.
When a rise in the cost of a litre of fuel can mean real hardship for us 'ordinary' folk and rising prices in supermarkets account for a huge percentage of the average wage, the super rich can absorb these conditions without even noticing. They have more than enough to be able to live on, despite the falls in the paper valuations of their wealth.
So, what is the reason we absorb such information about people who are so far removed from the reality of life they may as well be from another planet? Do we aspire to be like them? Is it a case of envy or simply jealousy?
I wish I knew the answer, but I fear it has become part of our human nature to look at wealth as a yardstick by which we are all judged. If you are rich, you have a value in life but if you just get by, you have very little value in our society.
Is it now time we started to re-evaluate our 'values' and judge a person's worth as being a value in the person and not in what they have?
Perhaps, if we had not allowed ourselves to become brainwashed by the media into buying 'envy' magazines and following the lives of pampered rich celebrities, we would not have overstretched ourselves by trying to keep up with something we should not really want.
Sadly, though, that has become the basis of our human nature!!
1 comment:
Money seems to be the no 1 interest to the vast majority of the population these days.
While money is needed to survive, it seems some want more than that and to have everything in life that they desire.
Each item comes with it's own price tag, but many abuse it's main purpose to live.
People get very greedy indeed, they lose touch with reality and the world around them.
I am not envy or jealous of those who are wealthy! Infact, if I had wealth, to be honest with you, I really wouldn't know what to do with it all.
I have a roof over my head to keep me dry, fed, warm and a place to sleep;
So why should I want a home that costs a huge amount more that may include a bathing pool?
Any vehicle can get you from A-B so why would I need to spend the extra thousands for my own means of transport that is bigger and looks nicer with a personalized number plate?
We all need the sun, food, water and air to survive, to keep us functioning.
Everything else is not really essential for our survival and with that we abuse everything else in our life, we take advantage of what is in the world for our own comfort.
Basically, for some, what they have just is never enough they want more.
LJM
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