Wealth, Essay Example

Introduction

The meaning of wealth has been defined in the dictionary as : An abundance of valuable material possessions, resources or riches. It is the state of being affluent or rich . (The Free dictionary). The term wealth can also be explained under a number of different academic genres or types i.e. Economics, Accounting or Finance, Philosophical, Sociological concepts.

Denotation of Wealth

Most people associate the concept of wealth with that of money and accumulation of capital. The original root of the world in old English however means that of wellbeing. In Greek the root of the word is associated with that of oikonomia or to manage the household a derivative of the word economic. Even today from the times of the 16^th Century Franciscan Monk Lucca Paciolli there is no precise definition of the term wealth. (Anielski).

Anielski[1]put forward the premise of the term genuine wealth which is offered more in the sociological concept in terms of genuine relationships with friends and family; the relationship with our partners and the splendour of appreciating the beauty of nature. In this sense wealth being measured in terms of the joy and love that it brings to our lives. (Anielski).

Connotation of wealth

I think I concur with the view put forward by Anielski in that genuine wealth is more important to me in terms of enrichment from the world around me by my partner, friends, family and appreciation of the natural world around me. Despite this you still need some accumulation of capital in order to both enrich your life and provide the creature comforts that you have come to rely upon from a modern civilisation. As such there is a driver in order to both earn and accumulate money in order to survive. There still however remains a degree of bartering or exchange of goods instead of using the monetary instrument.

The foundation of the American Dream is built upon the accumulation of wealth and personal success. It is geared towards the acquisition of monies in order to have the propensity to save and equally the spending power to accumulate those goods that will enrich your life i.e. Houses, cars, sporting goods etc. As such society creates the environment or social framework that promotes the accumulation of wealth or money. In this sense we live in a materialistic society and very few see beyond the basic concepts of what this provides. True wealth is more enshrined in the teachings of Christianity by the personal self-discovery of your relationship with friends and family, the concept of being charitable and helping others in life, the ability to make a personal difference and in doing so accumulating the wealth of spiritual wellbeing in your own life.

Conclusion

The concept of wealth may be defined in a number of different meanings i.e. Economics, Sociology, Philosophy, Finance etc. Some of these different meanings have been explored here but it may be argued that there is no pure definitive version of the holistic concept of wealth and this requires additional arguments in order to obtain specific definitions of terminology. From a philosophical context wealth may be considered as being either materialistic or spiritual. As tangible or intangible. Equally, the determination and interpretation of wealth is purely an individualistic perspective in where there is ample scope for disagreement.

Works Cited

Anielski, Mark. The Meaning of Wealth. Academic. Edmonton AB: University of Alberta, 2003. http://anielski.com/wp-content/documents/The%20Meaning%20of%20Wealth.pdf.

The Free dictionary. The Free dictionary. 2012. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/wealth. 7 7 2012.

[1] Mark Anielski Professor, School of Business University of Alberta, Edmonton.