There are things in this world that we have determined to be valuable, but we don’t {often|usually| think about what value actually is. Certainly gold has a worth, right? If you put a certain level of gold onto some scales, you’ll be able to figure out what it’s worth. But where does the value arise from? Is there anything you can actually gain from a bar of gold beyond its value? You can place a pig on some digital scale and find that it weighs much more, and provides a real service in the form of food, yet I’d say it’s probably better to have the bar of gold at this point in time. So what is it about the way we value things that discounts their actual real value? It is logical that oil, food and water are assigned a value, but what about fashion accessories, metals and jewelry?

The first thing we can say that gives something like gold a worth is the fact that it is rare. When an item is wanted by people, it’s subject to the law of supply and demand. The less something is available, the more individuals will be willing to spend in order to get it. The more individuals who desire something, the more likely a richer person will be willing to offer a higher amount. So the products that are worth the most are those which many people want, but which are very rare.

So in the case of gold, it has both aspects of this to its advantage. So its rareness is a naturally occurring fact, but why is it that so many people want it? The reason is simple enough, they want it because other people want it too. There’s an interesting situation here, like a snake biting its own tail. People want it because it’s worth something, it’s worth something because people want it. The actual real use of gold is probably absolutely nil, except for the fact that it appears nice.

Fashion is one of the things that affect the price of items that have no practical value. The term “perceived obsolescence,” is used to refer to the moment in which a product is seen as no longer worth anything, despite it having lost none of its capabilities. This is the function of fashion, it creates a sense of value, or lack of value, when the practical value has not changed.

What would happen if gold was out of style? This will probably not occur in our lifetimes, if ever, as the entire economy of the world is somewhat reliant on the value of gold for keeping everything else afloat. There’s the perception that actual money is only valuable because we all agree it is, whereas gold is seen as something “really” worth.

So if your partner doesn’t buy you enough expensive jewelry, maybe it’s for the best. The practical application of this is nil, and you’d be happier enjoying life without worrying about superficial things that are, in the real sense of the word, meaningless.

No related posts.

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.