The Genius of Money Chapter 15

Ralph Waldo Emerson (the American transcendentalist) talks about the moral challenges of accumulating wealth and the forces that money bears. He mentions that some people are "born to own" and others are not because their owning is not graceful; it seems to be a compromise within their own self. During his time, he was beginning to feel the force of money within his culture and work environment. Emerson was able to identify that land holders, bankers, and emerging industrialists were accumulating wealth through their ownership of land and capital.  However, he questioned "Who should be given the right of the use and distribution of that wealth?" Emerson recognized that money has now become the new natural resources. In his eyes, a person with high moral integrity will be able to determine if he or she can administer the use of wealth. 

Furthermore, Eva Hoffman (a Polish immigrant, who moved to Canada at the age of thirteen, and then to America) viewed ones identity on the influence of both material and cultural circumstances. Bloom brings in great reference to this point. He mentions that in today's society, media has played a big role in shaping the identity formation on the younger generation. The media bombards us with material items that will give us a higher status in life, but that is not being true to ones self. Bloom states, "I would think of myself as a brand rather than a self, an image rather than its source," I find this quote interesting because being materialistic can cloud us to think clearly and distracts the true focus of our main goals.Hoffman mentions that we should look beyond the material and focus on the spiritual perspective of life.