Man is now looked upon with respect for the wealth he holds in terms of money, education and skills. All of which cost a lot of money to gain in the world today. It has become a honourable thing to pursue wealth and wealth alone. Though this mad craze for wealth started with the West ‘s conquests of the rest of the world, to rob them of their wealth when Industrial Revolution first sprang up, it has taken firm root all over the world as well.
A successful man can take any form. He could be a writer, a great sportsman, an artist and so on. However, most often the purpose of a person becoming successful as a sportsman, writer or artist is to enjoy the wealth such achievements will bring. The main distinction of Tiger Woods is the millions he earns, the main claim to greatness of Bill Gates is that he is a billionaire (although he is not the first in the list; second to Carlos Slim who is the current wealthiest man in the world) and the main thing we know about Stephen King is the millions he earns per book.
However, this was not the case just a century ago. Actors and sportsman and writers had to work hard to earn what is just sufficient for them. They did not have the excess money then like they do now to be arrogant and defiant of the rest of the world. Today when we mention a successful actor we mean he is paid several million dollars per movie and not so much that he moves us with his acting skills.
Politicians work hard to gain power. Some of them however, make all kinds of promises and buy votes for themselves in the prospect of striking it rich for themselves and for their families through politics. As such, working for the best of the countryman becomes a goal far below their list. Often politicians are voted in the believe that apart from enriching themselves they would do something for the nation too as opposed to the other candidates who come in pursuit for wealth only. The factor of enriching themselves is a given.
However, it can be argued that they were and they are stills souls in the world like Mother Theresa who abhor money and wealth. But it is clear that she and others like her are in a minority. For every story covering great souls who live beyond money, we can find a few articles on stars making it rich and even richer. It is surprising that a movie star can demand over 50 million dollars for a single movie. However, no one is disturbed by this trend. On the contrary, we are filled with admiration. Often stories of people like Mother Theresa are likely to be smothered among other “more important” stories.
It is therefore true that the pursuit of wealth has become the modern goal. Wealth is not meant by what one needs to live a good live. It refers to untold wealth, wealth more than one will ever need in a lifetime, more than even one can spend.
Sometimes we are prompted to ask. What about people who have worked solely for the benefits of the world? What happened to the spirit of adventure and the other values of man which made human race so great? What about the spirit of great inventors and explorers who pursued their interests for their own sakes rather than for wealth? Well such people are again a in a minority. The pursuit of wealth has overtaken all other pursuits.
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