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A meander by Maynard

This comment is inspired by the Drudge link to a New York restaurant offering $1000 pizza.

How am I supposed to react to a $1000 pizza? Should I condemn the excessive waste? Should I be happy and even proud to live in a land where there’s enough wealth to support such nonsense? Maybe a little of both?

In forming a judgment, there’s another question I ask: Did the action under scrutiny actually consume wealth, or did it merely transfer wealth? There’s a big difference.

Let’s say I’ve decided to waste a thousand dollars in a public demonstration of my (hah!) vast wealth and status. One way I might do this would be to burn a thousand dollars in currency; alternatively I might spend that thousand dollars on gasoline and then burn the gasoline. In the first case, I haven’t really consumed anything, because the currency is merely a claim against goods and services. By burning currency, I’ve done nothing more than relinquish my personal claim. But by buying something and then destroying it, I would be consuming to no purpose.

So if I’m thinking about getting on my high horse and criticizing how others spend their personal wealth, I’ll more readily condemn the consumption. Burning money is more like a quirky act of charity.

In the case of the pizza, I’d wonder whether anything like a thousand dollars worth of ingredients went into the meal (consumption), or whether it’s just overpriced (charity).

Am I sounding a trifle socialistic, judging how other people spend their money? Aren’t they allowed to do whatever they want with their own money in a free society? Yes, and I’m not telling anyone what they must do. But I’m entitled to an opinion. If an act strikes me as a form of gluttony, I’m free to say this.

In Dante’s Divine Comedy, the fourth circle of hell is a place where Hoarders and Wasters battle endlessly. These two sins represent opposite sides of the same coin; that is, excessive focus on material goods. The misers hoard possessions, and the prodigals squander them. Hoarding and wasting, while not a matter for legal action, justify some amount of soul-searching.

An example that brings the Wasters to my mind is gold used as a food additive. Here are a few examples: One, two, and three. A Google search turns up lots more.

Although there are a few oddball claims to the contrary, it is generally understood that there is no dietary benefit to eating precious metals.

This reminds me of the strange tale of how Stan Jones, the Libertarian candidate for U.S. Senator from Montana in 2006, unintentionally dyed his skin blue by ingesting colloidal silver. The idea was to boost his immune system in anticipation of the global anarchy that was expected to result from the Y2K bug, which would render antibiotics unavailable. Maybe if not for his blue skin, Jones would have received more votes. But he got enough to do harm. If the 3% of the Montana electorate who voted for Jones had instead voted for the Republican candidate, it would be the Republicans and not the Democrats who now control the Senate.

Somewhere in the foregoing, there’s an important lesson to be had. If you figure out what it is, please let me know.