Ability to pursue higher levels of the Maslow hierarchy without fear for your basic safety and physical needs.
Ask HN: What is Wealth?
51–60 of 64 posts
Re: Ask HN: What is Wealth?
#52Wealth (what people want) can be divided into two subclasses: transferable (money, property, ...) and non-transferable (health, comfort, experiences, memories, fame, power, knowledge, ....) People generally use transferable wealth to gain the non-transferable.
People can be classified based on their patience in turning transferable wealth into non-transferable wealth. Wealth accumulators tend to be more patient in trading on transferable wealth than wealth dissipators who tend to immediately convert wealth into non-transferable form.
Re: Ask HN: What is Wealth?
#53[deleted]
Re: Ask HN: What is Wealth?
#54http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth "Wealth is the abundance of valuable resources or material possessions or the control of such assets."
The best economic definition of wealth that I have seen is George Gilder's from his 1980 book, Wealth and Poverty. He contrasted it to resources in general, and to riches, as:
"Wealth is resources dedicated to future production."
A car used as a status symbol or personal transport is riches, one used in business to generate more income is wealth; similarly with education for enjoyment versus education for future production, and so on.
He also pointed out that since spending on the military and police is not productive, that though necessary to protect wealth, it is not itself wealth and should be used as thriftily as possible.
Re: Ask HN: What is Wealth?
#55It depends on your circumstances. If you're on your death bed, you want more time. If you are sick, you want health. If you are hungry, you want food.
I guess it all boils down to what people want, but it's different for everybody.
Re: Ask HN: What is Wealth?
#56Re: Ask HN: What is Wealth?
#57Earlier quoted context omitted.
In my book, "bad" wealth (so to speak) would be any scheme for getting "money" (the paper thing, or the number in your bank account) without actually doing anything useful to anyone. For example, selling your shares in a bubble/ponzi company at a high price. Sure, these shares might have been something that someone wanted, but it's a form of fraud. What you earned is what someone else ends up losing, for nothing. I a…
I think we can all agree that fraud does not increase the general amount of wealth. That's why it's illegal. As for your last paragraph, it sounds like you are in the grip of that "money as debt" video, or worse, the labor theory of value. You should also look at some more mainstream economics before you decide that the whole thing is fraud. I'm sympathetic to your argument that some financial products are just "hack…
> it sounds like you are in the grip of that "money as debt" video
I wouldn't word it that way. The movie, whether you like it or not, raises some valid points, and I think calling the whole system a debt-money system is a good thing, at least it raises awareness about it's nature. Most people don't have the slightest clue how money is made.
Not only that; but I think it's more accurate, factual, and honest to call it debt-money rather than "fractional reserve banking". Fractional reserve can have a different meaning: it could mean you lend out most of what people entrust you with. That would still be a fractional reserve, because you're only keeping a fraction of what's in your trust.
> but just like real hacking, there's another side. Such "hacks" expose weaknesses, inefficiencies, and irrationality.
These hacks are legalized and institutionalized, it's basically a whole industry. It's very main stream stuff.
Re: Ask HN: What is Wealth?
#58Earlier quoted context omitted.
In my book, "bad" wealth (so to speak) would be any scheme for getting "money" (the paper thing, or the number in your bank account) without actually doing anything useful to anyone. For example, selling your shares in a bubble/ponzi company at a high price. Sure, these shares might have been something that someone wanted, but it's a form of fraud. What you earned is what someone else ends up losing, for nothing. I a…
I think we can all agree that fraud does not increase the general amount of wealth. That's why it's illegal. As for your last paragraph, it sounds like you are in the grip of that "money as debt" video, or worse, the labor theory of value. You should also look at some more mainstream economics before you decide that the whole thing is fraud. I'm sympathetic to your argument that some financial products are just "hack…
"or worse, the labor theory of value"
What do you mean by that ? Adam Smith would say wealth is stored labor, and that seems to me as good a definition as any.
Re: Ask HN: What is Wealth?
#59Wealth is an abstract noun encompassing all of the physical objects that are considered a store of value that one may possess. Of course now that some abstract entities like information or promissory notes also have monetary values attached to them, they too can be considered as wealth.
Re: Ask HN: What is Wealth?
#60Shaquille O'Neill is RICH
Guy signing his checks is WEALTHY
- Chris Rock