Why is Gold Desired?

There are items in this world that we have determined to be valuable, but we don’t {often|usually| think about what value actually is. Certainly gold has a worth, right? If you put a certain level of gold onto some scales, you’ll be able to figure out what it’s worth. But where does this value arise from? Is there something you can actually gain from a piece of gold beyond its value? You could place a pig on some digital scale and see that it weighs much more, and provides an actual service in the form of food, yet I’d guess it’s probably better to have the bar of gold at this moment in time. So what is it about the style in which we value things that discounts their actual practical value? It is logical that oil, food and water are assigned a value, but what about fashion items, metals and jewelry?

The first thing we could say that gives something like gold a worth is the fact that it is rare. When something is wanted by people, it’s subject to the rules of supply and demand. The less a thing is available, the more individuals will be willing to spend in order to get it. The more individuals who desire something, the more likely a wealthier person will be willing to offer a higher amount. So the products that are worth the most are the ones which many people want, but which are extremely rare.

So in the case of gold, it has both aspects of this to its credit. So its rareness is a obviously occurring fact, but why is it that so many of us want it? The reason is simple enough, they want to have it because other people want it. There’s an interesting predicament here, like a snake biting its own tail. People want it because it’s worth something, it’s worth something because people want it. The actual practical use of gold is probably absolutely nil, except for the fact that it looks nice.

Fashion is one of the areas that affect the price of objects that have no practical value. The term “perceived obsolescence,” refers to the moment in which a product is seen as no longer valuable, despite it having lost none of its capabilities. This is what fashion does, it creates a sense of value, or lack of value, when the practical value has not changed.

What would occur if gold was out of style? This will probably not occur in our lifetimes, if ever, as the entire economy of the world is somewhat reliant on the value of gold for keeping everything else going. There’s the belief that actual money is only valuable because we all decide it is, whereas gold is seen as something “really” valuable.

So if your loved one doesn’t buy you enough expensive jewelry, maybe it’s for the best. The practical application of this is nil, and you’d be better off enjoying life without worrying about superficial products that are, in the deepest sense of the word, meaningless.

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