Wealth
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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"On a map of the world in terms of product or income per head, the rich countries lie in the temperate zone, particularly in the northern hemisphere; the poor countries, in the tropics and semi-tropics" (p. 5). --The Wealth and Poverty of Nations (1998), David Landes "WHATEVER may be said in praise of poverty, the fact remains that it is not possible to live a really complete or successful life unless one is rich. "--The Science of Getting Rich (1910) by Wallace Wattles |
Illustration:Liberty Leading the People (1831, detail) by Eugène Delacroix.
Illustration: Nocturne in Black and Gold – The Falling Rocket (c. 1875) by James McNeill Whistler
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Wealth from the old English word "weal", which means "well-being" or "welfare". The term was originally an adjective to describe the possession of such qualities.
"Wealth" has come to mean an abundance of items of economic value, or the state of controlling or possessing such items, and encompasses money, real estate and personal property. In many countries wealth is also measured by reference to access to essential services such as health care, or the possession of crops and livestock. An individual who is wealthy, affluent, or rich is someone who has accumulated substantial wealth relative to others in their society or reference group. In economics, wealth refers to the value of assets owned minus the value of liabilities owed at a point in time.
'Wealth' refers to some accumulation of resources, whether abundant or not. 'Richness' refers to an abundance of such resources. A wealthy (or rich) individual, community, or nation thus has more resources than a poor one. Richness can also refer at least basic needs being met with abundance widely shared. The opposite of wealth is destitution. The opposite of richness is poverty.
The term implies a social contract on establishing and maintaining ownership in relation to such items which can be invoked with little or no effort and expense on the part of the owner (see means of protection).
See also
- Conspicuous consumption
- Diseases of affluence
- Economics
- Economic inequality
- Gross national happiness
- Happiness economics
- Luxury
- Poverty
- Post-scarcity economy
- Surplus product
- Wealth concentration
- Wealth distribution
- We are the 99%
- Google tax
