Just yesterday, as I was wandering the malls along Orchard Road with a few friends, a thought that frequently recurs in my mind hit me again; I thought to myself:

How can I justify paying for something that I want when it is exorbitant in price, even if it were extraordinarily well made, even if I could afford it, when that same amount of money could go a long way in improving the life of someone else.

That someone needn't be in some far flung place like a village in China, or a war orphan from Somalia. That individual could be separated by just 6 degrees from us.

It isn't exactly the same as what this video discusses, but it does skirt similar concerns.

The world is a gravely inequitable place to be in. There is no doubt about that, but I suppose we all have to try our very best to make it a tad bit better, regardless of the extent of our success at doing so. It is particularly interesting (as Leslie T. Chang notes in her video) how these Chinese workers "choose to leave their homes in order to earn money, to learn new skills and to see the world."

It speaks to a very fundamental need - to improve oneself.

I guess, everyone seeks to better and maximize the experiences that one could possibly get out of life. But honestly, what is a pair of sneaker in the grand scheme of things, what is the true worth of all that we are fighting to attain - are they not merely a transient objects, that offer temporal pleasure, whose surfaces are subject to the same forces of decay and destruction that threaten every other material item?

Have I won Monopoly to forfeit my soul?

Aren't we meant for so much more?

As a counterpoint to the views expressed above - the decadence of.