“Well, you see, my property is enough to supply me with all my needs…”
Socrates, in Xenophon’s Estate Manager
While Socrates was not destitute, the value of his estate was relatively low. Yet he expresses gratitude for his financial situation. He assures his friend Critobulus—a very wealthy man—that he prefers the condition of his own household to that of Critobulus’s. Though Socrates did not have very much, he deemed himself to have all that he needed.
For Socrates, as for the other great Greek philosophers and the tradition of Christian thinkers in continuity with them, the significant category concerning wealth is need, as distinct from want or desire. This is as profound as it is challenging, and as implication-rich as it is unappreciated. Here is a thorny issue at the very heart of household and of human life itself.
How do we think about wealth and wealth-getting? More importantly, how do we practice it? A perennial question is this: even if wealth is most about supplying needs, why not supply needs and then go further? Put otherwise, how could having too much be a problem? Isn’t having too little the real problem?
This is a question of civilizational import. It is multi-faceted and nuanced. But as usual, there are basic principles at work here, such as the following:
1. Human life consists essentially in living well and pursuing the higher things.
2. Material wealth should serve this end, not hinder it.
3. When wealth is pursued in view of real human needs (understood broadly, and to include needs of others), then it serves truly human life.
4. When wealth is pursued in excess of genuine needs, then it tends to hinder truly human life.
The truth of the fourth proposition is difficult to see, and difficult to defend. It is even more difficult to live. But the wise have been uniform in asserting it. It always has been and will be a point of contradiction.
Let us be clear: Socrates is well aware that some people can and should be ‘wealthy.’ He had no wish for Critobulus to forsake all his wealth. But he did want to teach him a very different approach to it: to getting it, and to using it.
The wise always seek to bring us back to basic principles. The getting and use of wealth is a fundamental part of life. It calls for constant reexamination and self-knowledge. How can wealth truly serve the good life, and how does it often hinder it? What about in my life?
The notion of need is rich—as is the human flourishing which is its foundation, measure, and goal. It admits of real variation. And yet it is always distinguishable, even if with difficulty, from simply ‘what I want.’
Yet then again, part of the paradox and the gift, is that I can train my wants. I can learn to form my wants in view of real needs: my own, my family’s, my friends, my community’s. And therein is perhaps the ultimate lesson, which Critobulus, and we, might learn from Socrates: the oft-hidden, golden key to wealth and its place in human life.
This new VIDEO unfolds this amazing ancient principle:
Xenophon (430-354 B.C.) was a soldier, historian, and philosopher of Athens. Like Plato he wrote dialogues featuring Socrates as a great teacher. Among these dialogues is Oeconomicus, translated as The Estate Manager, in which we get an insight into the structure and principles of the ancient household, and perhaps ours too. This post is a re-presentation of an earlier post.
Husband, father, and professor of Philosophy. LifeCraft springs from one conviction: there is an ancient wisdom about how to live the good life in our homes, with our families; and it is worth our time to hearken to it. Let’s rediscover it together. Learn more.
These distinctions and principles are excellent, John. Thank you for them. A great litmus test for knowing what is rightly ordered. Do you think there is an intersection between recognizing the needs of one’s community and wanting to pursue wealth, to a certain extent, in order to help address those needs? In other words, can that want also be a need, depending on the lens?
Anthony, Thanks for raising a great question. I do indeed think so. How the household interfaces with the broader community, and how to give each its proper due is certainly a central challenge in our professional (and personal!) life. But the good news is that the category of need is rich enough to help us address this. Certainly there are ways that the broader community has a claim upon us–even in ways that can impinge upon our family life. This must be carefully weighed; and discerning genuine ‘needs’ in the community and at home will be central in this ‘weighing.’ Thanks again for asking.
My dad worked 2-3 jobs depending on our circumstances and financial situation. He always told my brother and me this: find something you’re good at and enjoy doing, and the money will take care of itself. He also donated monthly to charities because “there’s always someone who needs it more than we do. and it’s up to us to help them.” I know he read Socrates in school.
It sounds like he was a man that lived according to great principles.
Many thanks for the post, Dr. Cuddeback.
I am reminded of Chrysostom; from Homily 12 on the First Letter to Timothy:
“He is not rich who is surrounded by many possessions, but he who does not need many possessions; and he is not poor who possesses nothing, but he who requires many things.”
Wonderful quotation for our reflection! Thank you, Daniel.
This brings back memories of my growing up years when I often thought I didn’t have this or that and was left with hand-me-downs from older sisters and always struggled with wanting something new, something more. My wise father brought my anguish to rest when he wanted me to seriously confront the issue of “want” versus “need.” taking into account not just my wants but the whole family’s needs. In examining this over and over again through my life, I find it has helped me in important decisions for my own family.
What a blessing is a wise father! Thank you for sharing, Helen.