Philosophy of Earnings

As a follow-up to Thursday’s in-class discussion, I would like to briefly address the philosophy of earnings from the novel “Ruth Hall” by Fanny Fern.  After the protagonist is left widow, she must forage money for sustenance.  In doing so, she is compelled to financially depend on others and supplicate for money.  One day following the need to request money from her father, Ruth becomes ill and asks her daughter, Katy to visit her grandfather on Ruth’s behalf.  After complying and meeting with her grandfather, Mr. Ellet asks, “come for money again?  Do you think your grandfather is made of money?  People have to earn it, did you know that?  I worked hard to earn mine.  Have you done anything to earn this?  Mr. Ellet’s affection towards the dollar which he reluctantly gives to his granddaughter hints of the psychological facade that veils deeper sentiments for himself, and those like him.  Beneath the conscious veneer lies the dependence for acceptance.  Mr. Ellet’s earnings not only symbolize his ticket (the dollar) to a certain level in society.  His philosophy of earning is fallacious if one considers the labor invested by women, slaves, and even some men who technically earned much more then what was repaid to them.  The term "earn" in this context autonomizes moral decisions from how money is distributed, thus exonerating Mr. Ellet from moral responsibility.  The more money, the better access to resources, reputation, and security all proffered by the malleable society in which preys on individuals like Ruth in both character and circumstance to maintain its own existence.  The blood which circulates throughout the system in the form of currency is assimilated from the blood, tears, and dependency on others. 

Ultimately, even the people who profit most in the society such as Mr. Ellet are victim to the dependency of the system in which the system rests in return.  This is largely psychological for those like Mr. Ellet who have the luxury to spend fifty-dollars on a collar, but seems to struggle to let go of the dollar to aid his own flesh and blood.  The philosophy of earnings is then subjective like most ideas in philosophy, and essentially portrays ones yearning for acceptance.  The system imagines standards for acceptance to occupy certain space, gain a certain education, and have access to other resources which basically have no favor if it weren’t for the mentally generated system which is actualized still today.  The system which speaks through its affects on human experience such as Mr. Ellet and Ruth’s circumstances exploits our nature as social beings-dependent for survival- to validate its existence.  In other words, people have created a society in which they seek acceptance through means of class and social status as a way to have purpose, and justify their doings in a world in which possibility seems chaotic, and freedom poses threat to a familiar way of life.