Value
Ryan Bhaskar
Value is a very interesting concept. It can be summarized as the importance, worth or usefulness of something. We can use money to measure the value of almost anything, e.g. a product in a shop, a country, or a person. When a customer walks into a shop and sees a product, they assess whether the product is worth more than the price. In very basic terms, if it is worth more than the price, than they buy it; but there are also other factors. This means that the perceived value must be greater than the price. This is called consumer value. There are also spiritual values. These are values that fulfil the purpose of human consciousness. Example of spiritual values are peace, love, truth and righteousness. This essay will focus on the differences between the materialistic and spiritual worlds. Firstly, I will discuss about how value can be measured in money. I will use countries to show how something can be measured in spiritual values and economic value. For most objects, materialistic value can be easily measured by deciding its importance, worth and usefulness. However, it is not as easy to measure the materialistic value of a large area of land, a business or a person. The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) values a country’s wealth. ‘ [GDP] is the total monetary or market value for all finished goo ds or services produced within a country’s border in a specific time period [usually a year]’ (Investopedia). Using GDP, America is the highest-ranking country, followed by China. In last place, is Tuvalu, a small island nation. There are several flaws with the system. Firstly, it ignores how money is distributed within a country. Also, GDP measures money, rather than other important things such as clean air, health and equality. There are other systems, which focus on the wellbeing, happiness and spirituality of a nation. Arguably, that is of more value to us thanmoney. This is where thematerialistic world clashes with the spiritual world.
One of the alternatives to GDP is GNH (Gross National Happiness). In 1972, Bhutan declared that it would seek to grow its GNH rather than its GDP. It takes 9 variables into account and is less based on money. The 9 variables are displayed in the image to the left (taken from https://austria-bhutan.org/en/about- bhutan/gross-national-happiness-gnh/).
‘ Gross National Happiness is more important than Gross National Product ’ - King Jigme Singye Wangchuck of Bhutan.
The quote above was used as a response to a journalist concerning Bhutan ’s GNP (Gross National Product). GNH is guided by Buddhism, the country’s religion. By saying that GNH is more important than GNP, the King said that the mental and physical wellbeing of his population is more important than having lots of money. I agree with this. However, without lots of money, how is it possible to have
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