Ask them to give away their wealth and be happy, and they would give out misanthropic groans.
The problem is not with the wealthy; it’s with the seers—they mouth these sort of inanities as quotable quotes to dissuade us from coveting the wealth of the wealthy. That way, they get feasted by the wealthy and feted by us.
Does wealth make you rich? Most people would say yes, saying ‘wealthy’ and ‘rich’ are synonymous. I doubt. What if one possesses wealth but can’t use it to live well? Being wealthy is to possess wealth; being rich is to have enough dough to spend on the good things of life. Both aren’t the same.
Economic geographers point to many lands like that—wealthy but not rich. The Spectator wrote in 1711, that “it is generally observed, that in countries of the greatest plenty there is the poorest living”. That was six decades before Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations, marking the birth of economics as a science—dismal as Thomas Carlyle called it, or otherwise.
Bu hikaye THE WEEK India dergisinin November 10, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Giriş Yap
Bu hikaye THE WEEK India dergisinin November 10, 2024 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
Use multi-asset investing to overcome portfolio volatility
EQUITY MARKETS have been choppy during this year. After rallying for the better part of the first nine months of 2024, equities corrected sharply in October and November, before taking off once again on rally mode in December.
Twist of faith
Upamanyu Chatterjee is back with his wry sense of humour in his new novel, and most of it is directed at religion and spirituality
THE GLORY OF SARI
Saris of Memory weaves together history and textiles, highlighting key moments from the author's collection
We win together
We invented chess, which was pretty cool of us. The original game 'chaturanga'that is four divisions (infantry, cavalry, elephantry and chariotry)-was a war strategy game. When the game travelled to the Middle East, they mangled the Sanskrit and it ended up being called 'shatranj' instead.
BEATS THAT HEAL
Music ignites the light within us, says Grammy-winner Chandrika Tandon
Older, smarter, sexier
Those who worship him regardless of where he works have continued to do so. Such is the power of Alessandro Michele, that after being the face of some mega brands for 10 years (namely Gucci and now Valentino), he remains bigger than the labels themselves. His debut collection for Valentino was presented at the recent Paris Haute Couture Week, and it has been adored by his adorers.
The road to peace
Future political dialogues should explore means of ensuring a more robust autonomy to tribal communities
Diary of a Sherpa
Amitabh Kant's new book is a comprehensive account of the G20 Summit held in Delhi in 2023
The annoying orange
Everything is great. All is sunshine. I am an eternal optimist.\" It's the fad of our TikTok times everything is not great, the sun sets daily, nothing is eternal. If anything, everything is ephemeral, night brings darkness, and optimism often crumbles under the weight of history. British philosopher Roger Scruton warned: \"Hope untempered by the evidence of history is a dangerous asset, one that threatens not only those who embrace it, but all those within range of their illusions.\"
NO SEAT, YET UPBEAT
The Congress is buoyed by its increased vote share in Delhi, and feels it can push the AAP into further decline
