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

The first thing we can say that gives something like gold a value 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 something is available, the more individuals will be willing to spend in order to have it. The more individuals who desire something, the more likely a wealthier person will be willing to offer a higher amount. So the items that are worth the most are those which many people want, but which are extremely rare.

So in the instance 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 people want it? The reason is simple enough, they want it because other people want it too. There’s an interesting predicament involved, like a snake biting its own tail. People want it since it’s worth something, it’s worth something since 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 things that affect the price of items 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 been altered.

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

So if your partner doesn’t buy you enough expensive accessories, maybe it’s for the best. The actual application of this is nil, and you’d be better off enjoying life without worrying about superficial things that are, in the real sense of the word, meaningless.