In non-collectivist societies, most individuals seek to impress upon others their distinction, their originality, their uniqueness– this isn’t surprising, considering the emphasis on individualism in assessing the value of a person.  Personal value– value as a human, and social status, run in lockstep with job status, income, intelligence, and other indices that all rely on exclusivity: something that one individual has that others do not.  These indices and collections, of friends, of money, of unique attributes, serve not only to reinforce an individual’s value but establish it.
Money is a valuable …