Money is funny

Many people believe money can buy everything including happiness. But there is still no rational explanation as to how it does. Can money change the inner feelings of human beings or can it bring more tastes to the moneyed people, or can it cure a person from a fatal disease, or can it reshape a person physically so that he lives longer and people call him more handsome? Actually those who believe money can do everything see everything in terms of demand and supply or they attach more importance to the market mechanism. Money cannot buy or supply something which is very personal. Let's cite example of human beings' relationship with God. Can money strengthen this relationship?
If money could have taken human beings nearer to his Creator Almighty Allah, then only moneyed people would have been loved by Him. But what our knowledge and religious scripture say is that the poor people have to answer less to Him in the Hereafter. Money and wealth have a meaning in our religion Islam, different from the way these are seen in a hedonistic society. Money buys happiness in the sense that whatever human beings consume by using money as a purchasing instrument brings utility. But here too, different consumers or users receive different utilities from the same unit of consumable items or from spending of the same amount of money. Sometimes tons of money become useless. Ask a cancer patient who is on the hospital bed what he wants to sacrifice to get rid of his deadly disease, his reply would surely be, he can even do away with the whole of his wealth.
Happiness does not have any barometer to be measured. It's a matter of feelings and mental condition. A man's way of life also determines the very important ingredient of happiness. One with good health and mind is found to be more happier than the one with bad health and mind and also with so much of money. Then again there are social factors which adversely affect someone's life, but money cannot change those problems. For example, if Bangladesh's social and interpersonal relationships further deteriorate, can money help anyway to fix them up? More consumers' freedom and having enough money to buy consumer items do not bring all the happiness. Can money bring or measure spiritual happiness? Nobody employs money to measure this ingredient of happiness.
A person is rich if he is spiritually so.  According to our religion, for that we are to strive continuously. Our religion has prescribed us the way how to be nearer our Creator. Life is short and it is even shorter for a spiritually rich person who is always in eager wait for when he will be meeting his Creator. He always strives to live within the boundary prescribed by Him.
Does money buy honesty? Can anyone bundle honesty and sell it in the market? To the materialistic consumers, honesty has little value; they are not ready to spend any money to buy honesty. There are many things which are vital for good living but not available in the market or so to say money cannot buy them. How would good relation between husband and wife be valued? Family life and good relationships with the family members are also important ingredients of happiness, but these are not available in the market, and hence money cannot buy these ingredients. Friendship can be purchased by money, but money-based friendships work only on give-and-take. A person can laugh without money; another person cannot laugh with money.
Who is more happy? Money is needed up to a level; beyond that money does not work. That is why many people want to remain content with less money. On the other hand, for many others chasing after money or doing everything for money has become a disease which has hardly any cure. As people become more greedy for money, they begin exploiting others.  Whatever illicit acts and crimes are being perpetrated have money connections. Most of the societies lay emphasis on moral values against greed and money; this value is now taking a back seat.
Corporate interest is another main element in tearing up social bondages and moral values. The society which could not put a lid on the naked corporate interest, humane approach to problem-solving does not work. Money can buy things that can be placed in the market place; these have limited supplies. But nature's bounties like air and sun have priceless values and its supplies bounties are unlimited. God was kind enough to supply these bounties in unlimited volume to His creatures including human beings. Again can money ensure a strain-free life? How much money will a moneyed person be ready to spend to have a stress-free life? The fact is that no money can offer a blessed life and remove strains from a life.
The writer is Professor of Economics University of Dhaka,
abuahmedecon@yahoo.com