Wealth derives from the old English word "weal", which means "well-being". The term was originally an adjective to describe the possession of great qualities.

"Wealth" can be described as an abundance of items of economic value, or the state of controlling or possessing such items, usually in the form of money, real estate and personal property. The economic value of a good or service has puzzled economists since the beginning of the discipline Money is anything that is generally accepted as Payment for Goods and services and repayment of Debts. Real estate is a legal term (in some jurisdictions notably in the USA, United Kingdom Property is any physical or virtual entity that is owned by an individual 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. Health care is the prevention treatment and management of illness and the preservation of mental health through the services offered by the medical, Nursing Livestock is the term used to refer (singularly or plurally to a Domesticated Animal intentionally reared in an agricultural setting to produce such as Food 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. In Economics and Business, Wealth of a person or nation is the value of Assets owned net of liabilities owed (to foreigners in the In Business and Accounting, assets are everything owned by a person or company (all tangible and intangible property that can be converted into cash. Wealth can be categorized into three principal categories: personal property, including homes or automobiles; monetary savings, such as the accumulation of past income; and business assets, including, real estate, stocks, and bonds. Personal property is a type of Property. In the Common law systems personal property may also be called chattels or personalty. Income, refers to consumption opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame which is generally expressed in monetary terms Real estate is a legal term (in some jurisdictions notably in the USA, United Kingdom Stocks are devices used since Medieval times for Public humiliation, Corporal punishment, and Torture. BOND (Building Object Network Databases started development in late 2000 as a Rapid application development tool for the GNOME Desktop by Treshna In some forms, stocks and bonds for example, wealth becomes capital and ultimately a new source of income. All these intricacies make wealth an especially important part of social stratification. In Sociology, social stratification is the hierarchical arrangement of Social classes Castes and strata within a Society. Wealth provides a type of safety net of protection against an unforeseen decline in one’s living standard in the event of job loss or other emergency and can be transformed into home ownership, business ownership, or even a college education. ^[1]

'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. Poverty (also called penury) is deprivation of common necessities that determine the quality of life including food clothing shelter and safe Drinking water, and

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). Social contract describes a broad class of republican theories whose subjects are implied agreements by which people form Nations and maintain a Social order Ownership is the state or fact of exclusive rights and control over Property, which may be an object, land/real estate, Intellectual property A means of protection is some contract or guarantee of security for Body or Property.

The concept of wealth is relative and not only varies between societies, but will often vary between different sections or regions in the same society. A personal net worth of US $1 000 000 in most parts of the United States would certainly place a person among the wealthiest citizens. For the film entitled Net Worth see Net Worth (film. In business net worth (sometimes called net assets) is the total Assets However, such amounts would constitute an extraordinary amount of wealth in impoverished developing countries. Developing countries are countries that haven't reached Western-style standards of democratic government free market economy industrialization social programs and human rights guaranties

The wealth of a country can be measured by its GDP per capita. See List of countries by GDP (PPP) per capita. This article includes three lists of Countries of the world sorted by their Gross domestic product (GDP at Purchasing power parity (PPP Per capita

Anthropological views

Anthropology characterizes societies, in part, based on a society's concept of wealth, and the institutional structures and power used to protect this wealth. Anthropology (/ˌænθɹəˈpɒlədʒi/ from Greek grc ἄνθρωπος anthrōpos, "human" -λογία -logia) is the study of Power is a measure of a person's ability to control the environment around them including the behavior of other people Several types are defined below. They can be viewed as an evolutionary progression. Many young adolescents have become wealthy from the inheritance of their families.

The interpersonal concept

Early hominids seem to have started with incipient ideas of wealth, similar to that of the great apes. But as tools, clothing, and other mobile infrastructural capital became important to survival (especially in hostile biomes), ideas such as the inheritance of wealth, political positions, leadership, and ability to control group movements (to perhaps reinforce such power) emerged. Clothing (also called clothes, accoutrements, accouterments, or habiliments) protects the Human body from extreme Weather Infrastructural capital refers to any physical Means of production or Means of protection beyond that which can be gathered or found directly in nature A biome is a climatically and geographically defined area of ecologically similar climatic conditions such as communities of Plants Animals and "Heir" and "Heiress" redirect here For the men and women fragrances endorsed by Paris Hilton see Heiress (fragrance. The word leadership can refer to Those entities that perform one or more acts of leading Neandertal societies had pooled funerary rites and cave painting which implies at least a notion of shared assets that could be spent for social purposes, or preserved for social purposes. The Neandertal is a small valley of the river Düssel in the German Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, located about east of Düsseldorf A funeral is a Ceremony marking a person's Death. Funerary customs comprise the complex of Beliefs and practices used by a Culture to remember Cave paintings are Paintings on Cave walls and ceilings and the term is used especially for those dating to Prehistoric times Wealth may have been collective.

Accumulation of non-necessities

Humans back to and including the Cro-Magnons seem to have had clearly defined rulers and status hierarchies. Human beings, humans or man (Origin 1590–1600 L homō man OL hemō the earthly one (see Humus Cro-Magnon ( French) is one of the main types of Homo sapiens of the European Upper Paleolithic, living approximately 40000 to 10000 years Digs in Russia have revealed elaborate funeral clothing on a pair of children buried there over 35,000 years ago. Archaeology, archeology, or archæology (from Greek grc ἀρχαιολογία archaiologia – grc ἀρχαῖος archaīos Russia (Россия Rossiya) or the Russian Federation ( Rossiyskaya Federatsiya) is a transcontinental Country extending This indicates a considerable accumulation of wealth by some individuals or families. The high artisan skill also suggest the capacity to direct specialized labor to tasks that are not of any obvious utility to the group's survival. An artisan, also called a Craftsman, is a skilled manual worker who crafts items that may be functional or strictly decorative including furniture clothing Division of labour or specialization is the specialization of cooperative labour in specific circumscribed tasks and roles intended to increase the Productivity

Control of arable land

The rise of irrigation and urbanization, especially in ancient Sumer and later Egypt, unified the ideas of wealth and control of land and agriculture. Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops Urbanizationn (also spelled urbanisation) is the physical growth of Urban areas into rural or natural land as a result of population in-migration to an existing Sumer ( Sumerian: sux-Latn [[Ki (earth ki]]-[[EN (cuneiform en]]-'''ĝir15''', Akkadian: Šumeru; possibly Biblical Shinar This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. In the Common law, real property (or realty) refers to one of the two main classes of Property, the other class being Personal property ( Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the growing of plants and fungi and the raising of domesticated Animals The study of agriculture To feed a large stable population, it was possible and necessary to achieve universal cultivation and city-state protection. Tillage is the agricultural preparation of the Soil by Ploughing ripping or turning it A city-state is a Region controlled exclusively by a City, usually having Sovereignty. The notion of the state and the notion of war are said to have emerged at this time. A state is a political association with effective Sovereignty over a geographic Area and representing a Population. War is an international relations Dispute, characterized by organized Violence between National Military units Tribal cultures were formalized into what we would call feudal systems, and many rights and obligations were assumed by the monarchy and related aristocracy. A monarchy is a Form of government in which supreme power is actually or nominally lodged in an individual who is the Head of state, often for life or Aristocracy is a form of Government, where rule is established through an internal struggle over who has the most status and influence over society and internal relations Protection of infrastructural capital built up over generations became critical: city walls, irrigation systems, sewage systems, aqueducts, buildings, all impossible to replace within a single generation, and thus a matter of social survival to maintain. Infrastructural capital refers to any physical Means of production or Means of protection beyond that which can be gathered or found directly in nature See also List of cities with defensive walls A defensive wall is a Fortification used to defend a city or settlement from potential aggressors Irrigation is an artificial application of water to the soil usually for assisting in growing crops Urban areas require some methods for collection and disposal of Sewage. An aqueduct is an artificial channel that is constructed to convey water from one location to another In Architecture, Construction, Engineering and real estate development the word building may refer to one of the following Any man-made The social capital of entire societies was often defined in terms of its relation to infrastructural capital (e. Social capital is a concept in business economics, Organizational behaviour, Political science, Public health, Sociology and natural Infrastructural capital refers to any physical Means of production or Means of protection beyond that which can be gathered or found directly in nature g. castles or forts or an allied monastery, cathedral or temple), and natural capital, (i. A castle is a defensive structure seen as one of the main symbols of the Middle Ages. Fortifications are Military Constructions and Buildings designed for defense in Warfare Humans have constructed defensive works for This article concerns the buildings occupied by monastics. For the life inside monasteries and its historical roots see Monasticism. This article is about the history and organisation of the cathedral A temple (from the Latin word Templum) is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities such as prayer and sacrifice or analogous rites Natural capital is the extension of the economic notion of capital (manufactured means of production to environmental goods and services e. the land that supplied locally grown food). Soil, often typeset as SOiL, is a four piece rock band from Chicago Illinois United States founded by Shaun Glass Tom Schofield Tim King and Adam Zadel Agricultural economics continues these traditions in the analyses of modern agricultural policy and related ideas of wealth, e. Agricultural economics originally applied the principles of Economics to the production of Crops and Livestock — a discipline known as Agronomics Agricultural policy describes a set of laws relating to domestic Agriculture and imports of foreign agricultural products g. the ark of taste model of agricultural wealth.

The capitalist notion

Banknotes from all around the world donated by visitors to the British Museum, London. The British Museum is a Museum of human history and culture in London.

Industrialization emphasized the role of technology. is a process of social and economic change whereby a human group is transformed from a Pre-industrial society into an industrial one Many jobs were automated. Machines replaced some workers while other workers became more specialized. Labour specialization became critical to economic success. Division of labour or specialization is the specialization of cooperative labour in specific circumscribed tasks and roles intended to increase the Productivity However, physical capital, as it came to be known, consisting of both the natural capital (raw materials from nature) and the infrastructural capital (facilitating technology), became the focus of the analysis of wealth. In general physical capital refers to any non-human asset made by humans and then used in production Natural capital is the extension of the economic notion of capital (manufactured means of production to environmental goods and services Infrastructural capital refers to any physical Means of production or Means of protection beyond that which can be gathered or found directly in nature Adam Smith saw wealth creation as the combination of materials, labour, land, and technology in such a way as to capture a profit (excess above the cost of production). Adam Smith ( baptised 16 June 1723 – 17 July 1790) was a Scottish moral philosopher and a pioneer of Political economy. ^[2] The theories of David Ricardo, John Locke, John Stuart Mill, and later, Karl Marx, in the 18th century and 19th century built on these views of wealth that we now call classical economics and Marxian economics (see labor theory of value). David Ricardo (18 April 1772 &ndash 11 September 1823 was an English political economist, often credited with systematizing economics and was one of the most influential John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704 was an English Philosopher. John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 &ndash 8 May 1873 British Philosopher, political economist, civil servant and Member of Parliament, was an influential The 18th century lasted from 1701 to 1800 in the Gregorian calendar, in accordance with the Anno Domini / Common Era numbering system The 19th century of the Common Era began on January 1, 1801 and ended on December 31, 1900, according to the Gregorian calendar Classical economics is widely regarded as the first modern school of economic thought. Note Marxian economics is not restricted to Marxist economics as it includes the economic thought of those inspired by Marx's works who do not identify with The labor theories of value (LTV are theories in Economics according to which the values of Commodities are related to the labor needed to Marx distinguishes in the Grundrisse between material wealth and human wealth, defining human wealth as "wealth in human relations"; land and labour were the source of all material wealth.

Sociological view

“Wealth provides an important mechanism of the intergenerational transmission of inequality. ”^[3] Approximately half of the wealthiest people in America inherited family fortunes. But the effect of inherited wealth can be seen on a more modest level as well. For example, a couple that buys a house with the financial help from their parents or a student that has his or her college education paid for, are benefiting directly from the accumulated wealth of previous generations. ^[4]

As a result of different conditions of life, members of different social classes view the world in much different ways. Social class refers to the hierarchical distinctions (or stratification) between individuals or groups in Societies or Cultures. This allows them to develop different “conceptions of social reality, different aspirations and hopes and fears, different conceptions of the desirable. ” ^[5] The way different classes in society view wealth vary and these diverse characteristics are a fundamental dividing line among the classes. Today there is an extremely skewed concentration of wealth in America, more so than even income. Distribution of wealth is a comparison of the Wealth of various members or groups in a Society, and is one aspect of the Economy and Social structure ^[6] In 1996 the Fed survey reported that the net worth of the top 1 percent was approximately equal to that of the bottom 90 percent. ^[7]

The upper class

Inheritance establishes different starting lines. "Heir" and "Heiress" redirect here For the men and women fragrances endorsed by Paris Hilton see Heiress (fragrance. The majority of those in the upper class have inherited their wealth and place a greater emphasis on wealth than on income. Upper class children are taught about investments and accumulation. Is a concept in Sociology that refers to the group of people at the top of a Social hierarchy. Investment or investing is a term with several closely-related meanings in Business management, Finance and Economics, related to saving Most generally the accumulation of capital refers simply to the gathering or amassment of objects of value the increase in wealth or the creation of wealth They are trained and conditioned, technically and philosophically, to handle the wealth that they will inherit and how to earn more later in life. Wealth and being a member of the upper class requires significant prior preparation and familiarization. If not trained correctly children may easily squander immense wealth, though this rarely happens. Despite their affinity to act in haughty ways, they use the power and freedom that comes with wealth to leverage opportunities. This allows them more flexibility in their lives and as a result have fewer worries. ^[8]

The accumulation of wealth fosters a growth of power, which in turn creates privileges conducive to more wealth. Children of the upper class are socialized on how to manage this power and channel this privilege in many different forms such as gaining access to other’s capital and to critical information. It is by accessing various edifices of information, associates, procedures and auspicious rules that the upper class are able to maintain their wealth and pass it along, and not necessarily because of an extreme work ethic. ^[9]

The middle class

There is a distinct difference in views about wealth among the middle class compared to those of the upper class. The middle class, in colloquial usage consists of those who have some economic independence but not a great deal of social Influence or power. Where the upper class beliefs focus on wealth, the middle class places a greater emphasis on income. The middle class views wealth as something for emergencies and it is seen as more of a cushion. This class is comprised of people that were raised with families that typically owned their own home, planned ahead and stressed the importance of education and achievement. They earn a significant amount of income and also have significant amounts of consumption. However there is very limited savings (deferred consumption) or investments, besides retirement pensions and homeownership. A pension is a steady income given to a person upon Retirement, typically in the form of a guaranteed annuity. They have been socialized to accumulate wealth through structured, institutionalized arrangements. Without this set structure, asset accumulation would likely not occur. ^[10]

The working class

The working class has fewer options for advancement and wealth accumulation than the upper and middle classes. Working class is a term used in academic Sociology and in ordinary conversation to describe depending on context and speaker those employed in specific fields or types This can be characterized as having limited income, unstable employment and an insignificant retirement pension account. Access to structured asset accumulation programs, such as retirement pensions, are not readily available to those in this class and as a result little of their earnings are actually saved or invested. Consequently, there is a limited financial cushion available in times of hardship such as a divorce or major illness. Just as their parents, children who lack assets are less likely to plan for the future. ^[11]

The welfare class

Those with the least amount of wealth are the welfare poor. Wealth accumulation for this class is to some extent prohibited. People that receive AFDC transfers cannot own more than a trivial amount of assets, in order to be eligible and remain qualified for income transfers. Most of the institutions that the welfare poor encounter discourage any accumulation of assets. ^[12]

Other concepts

Global wealth

Michel Foucault commented that the concept of Man as an aggregate did not exist before the 18th century. Michel Foucault ( (15 October 1926 – 25 June 1984 was a French philosopher, Historian, Intellectual, Critic and Sociologist. A man is a Male Human. The term man (irregular plural The shift from the analysis of an individual's wealth to the concept of an aggregation of all men is implied in the concepts of political economy and then economics. Political economy originally was the term for studying production buying and selling and their relations with law custom and government Economics is the social science that studies the production distribution, and consumption of goods and services. This transition took place as a result of a cultural bias inherent in the Enlightenment. Cultural bias is when someone is biased due to his or her culture The Age of Enlightenment or The Enlightenment is a term used to describe a phase in Western philosophy and cultural life centered upon the eighteenth century Wealth was seen as an objective fact of living as a human being in a society.

Not a zero-sum game

Regardless of whether one defines wealth as the sum total of all currency, the M1 money supply, or a broader measure which includes money, securities, and property, the supply of wealth, while limited, is not fixed. In Economics, money supply, or money stock, is the total amount of money available in an Economy at a particular point in time Thus, there is room for people to gain wealth without taking from others, and wealth is not necessarily a zero-sum game, though short-term effects and some economic situations may make it appear to be so. In Game theory and Economic theory, zero-sum describes a situation in which a participant's gain or loss is exactly balanced by the losses or gains of the other Many things can affect the creation and destruction of wealth including size of the work force, production efficiency, available resource endowments, inventions, innovations, and availability of capital.

However, at any given point in time, there is a limited amount of wealth which exists. That is to say, it is fixed in the short term. People who study short term issues see wealth as a zero-sum game and concentrate on the distribution of wealth, whereas people who study long-term issues see wealth as a non-zero sum game and concentrate on wealth creation. Wealth derives from the old English word "weal" which means "well-being Wealth derives from the old English word "weal" which means "well-being Other people put equal emphasis on both the creation and the distribution of wealth. It has been theorized, for example, by Robert Wright, among others, that society becomes increasingly non-zero-sum as it becomes more complex, specialized, and interdependent.

One's attitude towards this issue affects the design of the social or economic system that one prefers. Social structure is a term frequently used in Sociology and Social theory — yet rarely defined or clearly conceptualised (Abercrombie et al An economic system is a System that involves the production, distribution and consumption of goods and services between

The non-normative concept

Neoclassical economics tries to be non-normative for the most part, to be objective and free of value statements. Neoclassical economics is a term variously used for approaches to Economics focusing on the determination of prices outputs and income distributions in markets If it is successful, then wealth would be defined in such a way that it would not be preconceived to be either positive or negative. This objective has not always been the case. In prior eras wealth was assumed to be a set of means of persuasion. A means of persuasion, in some theories of Politics and Economics, can substitute for a Factor of production by providing some influence or information

It was often seen as self-interested arguments by the powerful explaining why they should remain in power. In The Prince, Niccolò Machiavelli had commented in that earlier era on the prudent use of wealth, and the need to tolerate some cruelty and vice in the use of it, in order to maintain appearances of strength and power. Il Principe ( The Prince) is a political Treatise by the Florentine public servant and political theorist Cruelty can be described as indifference to Suffering, and even positive Pleasure in inflicting it The software program VICE (all caps standing for V ersat' I' le C ommodore E mulator, is an Emulator for Commodore

Jane Jacobs in the 1960s and 70s offered the observation that there were two different moral syndromes that were common attitudes to wealth and power, and that the one more associated with guardianship did in fact require a degree of ostentatious conspicuous consumption if only to impress others. Jane Jacobs, OC, OOnt ( May 4, 1916 – April 25, 2006) was an Jane Jacobs, OC, OOnt ( May 4, 1916 – April 25, 2006) was an A legal guardian is a person who has the legal authority (and the corresponding duty to care for the personal and Property interests of another person called a ward Conspicuous consumption is a term used to describe the lavish spending on goods and services acquired mainly for the purpose of displaying Income or Wealth.

This logic is almost entirely absent from neoclassical economics, which in its extreme form argues for the abolition of any political economy apart from the service markets wherein favours may be bought and sold at will, including political ones - the so-called political choice theory popular in the U.S.A.. Neoclassical economics is a term variously used for approaches to Economics focusing on the determination of prices outputs and income distributions in markets Political economy originally was the term for studying production buying and selling and their relations with law custom and government Political economy originally was the term for studying production buying and selling and their relations with law custom and government The United States of America —commonly referred to as the While it is entirely likely that such assumptions apply in the subcultures that dominate modern discourse on technical economics and especially macroeconomics, the less technical notions of wealth and power that are implied in the older theories of economics and ideas of wealth, still continue as daily facts of life. Discourse (L discursus, "running to and from" means either "written or spoken communication or debate" or "a formal discussion Macroeconomics is a branch of Economics that deals with the performance structure and behavior of a national or regional Economy as a whole

Non-financial

The 21st century view is that many definitions of wealth can exist and continue to co-exist. The 21st century is the current century of the Christian Era or Common Era in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. Some people talk about measuring the more general concept of well-being. Quality of life is the degree of well-being felt by an individual or group of people This is a difficult process but many believe it possible - human development theory being devoted to this. Human development theory is a theory that merges older ideas from Ecological economics, Sustainable development, Welfare economics, and Feminist Furthermore, Manoj Sharma [1], the head of DifferWorld's [2]faculty makes a very strong case of the importance of factoring in both financial wealth and non-financial wealth as a measure of True Wealth. Manoj Sharma's definition of True Wealth being a combination of financial, mental, emotional, physical and spiritual wealth; and how it is channeled towards the general good of humanity. Although these alternative measures of wealth exist, they tend to be overshadowed and influenced by the dominant money supply and banking system. In Economics, money supply, or money stock, is the total amount of money available in an Economy at a particular point in time A banker or bank is a Financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers and to borrow and lend money For more on the modern notions of wealth and their interaction see the article on political economy. Political economy originally was the term for studying production buying and selling and their relations with law custom and government

Sustainable wealth as a measure of well-being

Sustainable wealth is defined by the author of Creating Sustainable Wealth, Elizabeth M Parker, as meeting the individual’s personal, social and environmental needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. This definition of sustainable wealth comes from the marriage of sustainability as defined by the Brundtland Commission and wealth defined as a measure of well-being, not only from marriage but it also can be earned by working hard.

Sustainable wealth

According to the author of Wealth Odyssey, Larry R. Frank Sr, wealth is what sustains you when you are not working. It is net worth, not income, which is important when you retire or are unable to work (premature loss of income due to injury or illness is actually a risk management issue). The key question is how long would a certain wealth last? Ongoing withdrawal research has sustainable withdrawal rates anywhere between approximately 3 percent and 8 percent, depending on the research’s assumptions. Time, how long wealth might last, then becomes a function of how many times does the percentage withdrawal rate go into all the assets. Example: withdrawing 3 percent a year into 100 percent equals 33. 3 years; 4 percent equals 25 years; 8 percent equals 12. 5 years, etc. This ignores any growth, which presumably would be used to offset the effects of inflation. Growth greater than the withdrawal rate would extend the time assets may last, while negative growth would reduce the time assets may last. Clearly a lower withdrawal rate is more conservative. Knowing this helps you determine how much wealth you need also. Example: you know you will need $40,000 a year and use a 4 percent withdrawal rate, then you need to use 5 percent and therefore need $800,000, etc. This simple “wealth rule” helps you estimate both the time and the amount.

Buckminster Fuller's Notion of Wealth

In section 1075.25 of Synergetics, Buckminster Fuller defined wealth as "the measurable degree of established operative advantage". Richard Buckminster “Bucky” Fuller ( July 12, 1895 &ndash July 1, 1983) was an American Architect, Author In Critical Path^[13] Fuller described his notion as that which "realistically protected, nurtured, and accommodated X numbers of human lives for Y number of forward days". Philosophically, Fuller viewed "real wealth" as human know-how and know-what which he pointed out is always increasing.

The limits to wealth creation

There is a debate in economic literature, usually referred to as the limits to growth debate in which the ecological impact of growth and wealth creation is considered. Many of the wealth creating activities mentioned above (cutting down trees, hunting, farming) have an impact on the environment around us. Sometimes the impact is positive (for example, hunting when herd populations are high) and sometimes the impact is negative (for example, hunting when herd populations are low).

Most researchers feel that sustained environmental impacts can have an effect on the whole ecosystem. They claim that the accumulated impacts on the ecosystem put a theoretical limit on the amount of wealth that can be created. They draw on archeology to cite examples of cultures that they claim have disappeared because they grew beyond the ability of their ecosystems to support them.

Others are more optimistic (or, as the first group might claim, more naïve). They claim that although unrestrained wealth-creating activities may have localized environmental impact, large scale ecological effects are either minor or non-existent; or that even if global scale ecological effects exist, human ingenuity will always find ways of adapting to them, so that there is no ecological limit to the amount of growth or wealth that this planet will sustain.

More fundamentally, the limited surface of Earth places limits on the space, population and natural resources available to the human race, at least until such time as large-scale space travel is a realistic proposition.

The difference between income and wealth

Wealth is a stock that can be represented in an accounting balance sheet, meaning that it is a total accumulation over time, that can be seen in a snapshot. Income is a flow, meaning it is a rate of change, as represented in an Income/Expense or Cashflow Statement. Income, refers to consumption opportunity gained by an entity within a specified time frame which is generally expressed in monetary terms Income represents the increase in wealth (as can be quantified on a Cashflow statement), expenses the decrease in wealth. If you limit wealth to net worth, then mathematically net income (income minus expenses) can be thought of as the first derivative of wealth, representing the change in wealth over a period of time. For the film entitled Net Worth see Net Worth (film. In business net worth (sometimes called net assets) is the total Assets

Wealth as measured by time

Wealth has also been defined as "the amount of time an individual can maintain his current lifestyle for, without any new income". For example if a person has $1000, and their lifestyle dictates $1000 per week of expenses, then their wealth is measured as 1 week. Under this definition, a person with $10,000 of savings and expenses of $1000 per week (10 weeks of wealth) would be considered wealthier than a person with $20,000 of savings and expenses of $5000 per week (4 weeks of wealth).

Distribution

Main article: Distribution of wealth

Capitalism asserts that all wealth is earned, not distributed. Distribution of wealth is a comparison of the Wealth of various members or groups in a Society, and is one aspect of the Economy and Social structure Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where It can only be distributed after it is forcibly seized from the earners (usually in the form of tax). Wealth acquired this way is then distributed. Thus this section is concerned with the anti-capitalist conception of wealth, namely that all wealth is collective and distributed among individuals.

Different societies have different opinions about wealth distribution and about the obligations related to wealth, but from the era of the tribal society to the modern era, there have been means of moderating the acquisition and use of wealth. An obligation is a requirement to take some course of action whether legal or moral. A tribe, viewed historically or developmentally consists of a Social group existing before the development of or outside of States Many anthropologists use

In ecologically rich areas such as those inhabited by the Haida in the Cascadia ecoregion, traditions like potlatch kept wealth relatively evenly distributed, requiring leaders to buy continued status and respect with giveaways of wealth to the poorer members of society. The Haida (19th C-early 20th C Indigenous nation of the west coast of North America. The Pacific Northwest is a region in the northwest of North America (the term refers to the land not the ocean A potlatch is a festival ceremony practiced by Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast in North America along Pacific Northwest coast of the United Such traditions make what are today often seen as government responsibilities into matters of personal honour. For the government of parliamentary systems see Executive (government.

In modern societies, the tradition of philanthropy exists. Philanthropy is the act of donating money goods services time and/or effort to support a socially beneficial cause with a defined objective and with no financial or material Large donations from funds created by wealthy individuals are highly visible, although small contributions by many people also offer a wide variety of support within a society. The continued existence of organizations which survive on donations indicate that modern Western society has at least some level of philanthropy.

Furthermore, in today's societies, much wealth distribution and redistribution is the result of government policies and programs. Government policies like the progressivity or regressivity of the tax system can redistribute wealth to the poor or the rich respectively. Government programs like “disaster relief” transfer wealth to people that have suffered loss due to a natural disaster. Social security transfers wealth from the young to the old. Fighting a war transfers wealth to certain sectors of society. Public education transfers wealth to families with children in public schools. Public road construction transfers wealth from people that do not use the roads to those people that do (and to those that build the roads). Certain people resent having to contribute to some or all of these programs, and disparagingly label them social engineering. Social engineering is a concept in Political science that refers to efforts to influence popular Attitudes and Social behavior on a large scale whether

Like all human activities, wealth redistribution cannot achieve 100% efficiency. The act of redistribution itself has certain costs associated with it, due to the necessary maintenance of the infrastructure that is required to collect the wealth in question and then redistribute it. Different people on different sides of the political spectrum have different views on this issue. Some see it as unacceptable waste, while others see it as a natural fact of life, which is inevitable in all kinds of inter-human relations.

Proponents of the supply-side theory of "trickle-down" economics claim that it is a form of time-deferred philanthropy. Supply-side economics is an arguably heterodox school of Macroeconomic thought that argues that economic growth can be most effectively created using incentives for The theory is that newly created wealth eventually "trickles down" to all strata of society. The argument goes that although wealth is created primarily by the wealthy, they will tend to reinvest their wealth, and this process will create even more wealth. As the economy grows, it is said that more and more people will share in the newly created wealth. A similar argument can be made in the case of Keynesian economics. In Economics Keynesian economics (ˈkeɪnziən also Keynesianism and Keynesian Theory) is based on the ideas of twentieth-century British economist According to this theory, government redistributions and expenditures have a multiplier effect that stimulates the economy and creates wealth. In economics the multiplier effect refers to the idea that an initial spending rise can lead to an even greater increase in National income. Supply-siders claim that wealth is created primarily by investment (supply), whereas Keynesians claim that wealth is driven by expenditure (demand). Today most economists agree that growth can be stimulated by either the supply or demand side, and some of them argue that these are really two sides of the same coin, in the sense that you seldom get one without the other. Nevertheless, the dispute between supply-side and Keynesian economics is of continuing interest.

Stresses within social distribution systems can be understood within a broad theory of political economy, where tradeoffs between means of protection, persuasion and production, and valuations of different styles of capital, are described. Political economy originally was the term for studying production buying and selling and their relations with law custom and government A means of protection is some contract or guarantee of security for Body or Property. A means of persuasion, in some theories of Politics and Economics, can substitute for a Factor of production by providing some influence or information Means Of Production is a compilation of Aim 's early 12" and EP releases recorded between 1995 and 1998 In Economics, capital or capital Goods or real capital refers to items of extensive value Simply put, if the rich do not at least once in a while give away, of their own free will, at least a small part of their wealth to the poor, then the poor are much more likely to rebel against the rich.

Wealth in the form of land

Many indigenous cultures reject the notion of land wealth. In western tradition, the concepts of owning land and accumulating wealth in the form of land, are derived from Biblical tradition, where God told the Israelites to go in and take possession of the promised land of Caanan.

Land ownership was also justified according to John Locke. John Locke (29 August 1632 – 28 October 1704 was an English Philosopher. He claimed that because we admix our labour with the land, we thereby deserve the right to control the use of the land and benefit from the product of that land, subject to the Lockean proviso of "at least where there is enough, and as good left in common for others. The Lockean Proviso is a portion of John Locke's Labor theory of property which says that though individuals have a right to acquire private property from nature that they " Additionally, in our post agricultural society this argument has many critics (including those influenced by Georgist and geolibertarian ideas) that argue that since people did not create land, they have no right of property over it. "Georgist" redirects here For the Romanian political group see National Liberal Party-Brătianu. Geolibertarianism is a Political movement that strives to reconcile Libertarianism and Georgism (or geoism) Still, many older ideas have resurfaced in the modern notions of ecological stewardship, bioregionalism, natural capital, and ecological economics. Stewardship is personal responsibility for taking care of another person's property or financial affairs or in religious orders taking care of finances Bioregionalism is a term used to describe a political cultural and environmental system based on naturally-defined areas called bioregions or Ecoregions Bioregions are defined Natural capital is the extension of the economic notion of capital (manufactured means of production to environmental goods and services Ecological economics is a Transdisciplinary field of academic research within Economics that aims to address the interdependence between human economies and natural But in Oriental philosophy, wealth which does not ensure peace of mind, or wealth which is not shared with the needy, or undeserved wealth is no better than poverty.

See also

• Affluence in the United States
• Capital accumulation
• Distribution of wealth
• Household income in the United States
• Income in the United Kingdom
• Lists of billionaires
• Personal income in the United States
• Poverty
• Private banking
• Surplus product
• Value added
• Wealth (economics)
• Wealth condensation

References