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Did Gandhi get rich? Does it matter?

by rw 18y ago

ksvs 18y ago
Effectively. Like all national politicians, he had the same resources at his disposal that a rich person in his country would have. His ascetic life was voluntarily so.
- rw 18y ago
  Social capital is dependent upon the continuing goodwill of others. That is an important restriction. If Gandhi had dropped his ascetic lifestyle, deciding to obtain a mansion, his social capital would have declined dramatically.
  - anamax 18y ago
    Yes, but he'd still have had the mansion and the lifestyle. He'd have just lost the adoring crowds.
    - mattmaroon 18y ago
      People with mansions always have an adoring crowd.
      - babul 18y ago
        Saddam had a lot of mansions.
        mattmaroon 18y ago
        He had an adoring crowd too. He just had a much larger opposite crowd.
mattmaroon 18y ago
Would you want to trade places with Gandhi? I wouldn't.
- rms 18y ago
  I would.
  - unalone 18y ago
    Why?
- oakmac 18y ago
  Are you implying that you would not want to achieve the accomplishments of Gandhi in your lifetime if it meant living the lifestyle Gadhi lived? If that is the case I would strongly suggest you reconsider your priorities.
  - mattmaroon 18y ago
    I'm not implying it, I'm stating it. If you would like to endure what he did just to get your name in the history books, you should reconsider your priorities. And if you wish to emulate Ghandi so much, what are you doing about it? I see from your profile you're a freelance web developer and currency trader. Is that the best route to helping the downtrodden? I'd be willing to be you've chosen a lifestyle for yourself that's a lot more like mine than Ghandi's, and both are available.
    - oakmac 18y ago
      The accomplishments of Ghandi far outweigh both his reasons for achieving them and the methods he used. Passing judgment on his lifestyle in spite of his feats would be like saying we should disregard the works of Darwin because they offend people. Ghandi didn't get his name in the history books because he lived like a pauper. I have no desire to emulate Ghandi and I never stated that I did. I recognize when to respect the accomplishments of others.
jayair 18y ago
The Gandhi part aside, I agree with your sentiments. Does money matter? The response I hear from most people is that, "It will matter when you need to put food on the table". This is undeniable but after we are able to accomplish this task whats next? From that point on money is not and should not be the primary driving force. I say primary because there are things in life that people enjoy doing that needs some amount of money. So I would say, a) Find what you love (x) b) If the process of completing x needs money, then seek the money needed for it. Our ability to do this process well depends on how focused we are. since, it is easy to get distracted in a world filled with things we "want".
- rw 18y ago
  Or: step b2) If getting x requires money, work to make it cheaper or free.
- mattmaroon 18y ago
  Money matters a lot. You can be unhappy with money, but you can't be happy without it. Society has tricked many into thinking the desire for wealth is base or shallow, just like it has with many natural human urges. It's an idea that's happily perpetuated by those who have it. Just as men have, throughout history, preached monogamy while cheating every chance they got because if every other man is not actively mating and you are, your genes will survive better, the wealthy have perpetuated the idea that wealth is evil to decrease competition. But hey, don't worry, your suffering in this life will be rewarded in the next. It's easy to see this every time the Pope proclaims that it's easier for a rich man to get into heaven than it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle from his golden castle in his golden city.
  - jayair 18y ago
    In the first statement you made, you can replace money with any other essential need that human beings have. My perspective has always been this; after you have achieved your needs for the money you need to stay alive, what do you do next? As I was saying before we should first find what we like and then look at the money required to carry it out. If we were to take the other approach where we first look for the money and then find something to do in our life that makes us happy with the money, we would invariably hurt ourselves in the process. As somebody mentioned before in the comments, the pursuit of money distracts from the task at hand. This leads to an unhappy process and a poorly completed task. But again it takes focus to carry this out. Focus not only on what you do but also on what makes you happy. Happiness is but a collection of moments strung together which when reflected upon gives us the relative feeling of joy.

Did Gandhi get rich? Does it matter?

by rw 18y ago

Did Gandhi get rich? Does it matter?

ksvs 18y ago

Effectively. Like all national politicians, he had the same resources at his disposal that a rich person in his country would have. His ascetic life was voluntarily so.

rw 18y ago
Social capital is dependent upon the continuing goodwill of others. That is an important restriction. If Gandhi had dropped his ascetic lifestyle, deciding to obtain a mansion, his social capital would have declined dramatically.
- anamax 18y ago
  Yes, but he'd still have had the mansion and the lifestyle. He'd have just lost the adoring crowds.
  - mattmaroon 18y ago
    People with mansions always have an adoring crowd.
    - babul 18y ago
      Saddam had a lot of mansions.
      - mattmaroon 18y ago
        He had an adoring crowd too. He just had a much larger opposite crowd.

mattmaroon 18y ago

Would you want to trade places with Gandhi? I wouldn't.

rms 18y ago
I would.
- unalone 18y ago
  Why?
oakmac 18y ago
Are you implying that you would not want to achieve the accomplishments of Gandhi in your lifetime if it meant living the lifestyle Gadhi lived? If that is the case I would strongly suggest you reconsider your priorities.
- mattmaroon 18y ago
  I'm not implying it, I'm stating it. If you would like to endure what he did just to get your name in the history books, you should reconsider your priorities. And if you wish to emulate Ghandi so much, what are you doing about it? I see from your profile you're a freelance web developer and currency trader. Is that the best route to helping the downtrodden? I'd be willing to be you've chosen a lifestyle for yourself that's a lot more like mine than Ghandi's, and both are available.
  - oakmac 18y ago
    The accomplishments of Ghandi far outweigh both his reasons for achieving them and the methods he used. Passing judgment on his lifestyle in spite of his feats would be like saying we should disregard the works of Darwin because they offend people. Ghandi didn't get his name in the history books because he lived like a pauper. I have no desire to emulate Ghandi and I never stated that I did. I recognize when to respect the accomplishments of others.

jayair 18y ago

The Gandhi part aside, I agree with your sentiments. Does money matter? The response I hear from most people is that, "It will matter when you need to put food on the table". This is undeniable but after we are able to accomplish this task whats next? From that point on money is not and should not be the primary driving force. I say primary because there are things in life that people enjoy doing that needs some amount of money. So I would say, a) Find what you love (x) b) If the process of completing x needs money, then seek the money needed for it. Our ability to do this process well depends on how focused we are. since, it is easy to get distracted in a world filled with things we "want".

rw 18y ago
Or: step b2) If getting x requires money, work to make it cheaper or free.
mattmaroon 18y ago
Money matters a lot. You can be unhappy with money, but you can't be happy without it. Society has tricked many into thinking the desire for wealth is base or shallow, just like it has with many natural human urges. It's an idea that's happily perpetuated by those who have it. Just as men have, throughout history, preached monogamy while cheating every chance they got because if every other man is not actively mating and you are, your genes will survive better, the wealthy have perpetuated the idea that wealth is evil to decrease competition. But hey, don't worry, your suffering in this life will be rewarded in the next. It's easy to see this every time the Pope proclaims that it's easier for a rich man to get into heaven than it is for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle from his golden castle in his golden city.
- jayair 18y ago
  In the first statement you made, you can replace money with any other essential need that human beings have. My perspective has always been this; after you have achieved your needs for the money you need to stay alive, what do you do next? As I was saying before we should first find what we like and then look at the money required to carry it out. If we were to take the other approach where we first look for the money and then find something to do in our life that makes us happy with the money, we would invariably hurt ourselves in the process. As somebody mentioned before in the comments, the pursuit of money distracts from the task at hand. This leads to an unhappy process and a poorly completed task. But again it takes focus to carry this out. Focus not only on what you do but also on what makes you happy. Happiness is but a collection of moments strung together which when reflected upon gives us the relative feeling of joy.