Tuesday, February 26, 2013

When do we have enough?

When do you have enough? In contemplating this weekend's move from the country back to suburbia, I realize that I have much less stuff than ever before in my life. Except for the emotional part, this will be an easy move.

Richard White writes in the Boston Review that Americans used to believe that having enough frequently trumped the ambition for endless accumulation. He asserts that the American dream has changed over the years.

What price should we put on free speech? Liberty? Humor? Thought? Good character? Kindness? Generosity? Beauty? Brilliance? Humility?

Read more here: http://www.bostonreview.net/BR38.1/richard_white_gilded_age_wealth_inequality.php

Update: Also in the Boston Review, there is a response to the White article. Gavin Jones examines literature to explore the questions raised by White. He cites a character in The House of Mirth who "seeks only a sufficiency free from the extremes of luxury and poverty."

Read the Jones article here: http://www.bostonreview.net/BR38.1/gavin_jones_gilded_age_literature_wealth_ethics.php

hat tip Gerard Vanderleun

No comments: