Everyone wants gold – why?

We’ll have to do without warm, warming sunlight for quite a while: we’re approaching the shortest day of the year. But we are also approaching the pre-Christmas season: sparkling stars, glittering decorations, golden packaging – the darker the season, the more gold we seem to need.

Gold is sought after worldwide

“We” in this case means: all people worldwide. There is no culture on earth where gold is not valued. But why exactly?

The Munich philosopher Pravu Mazumdar has been working on the topic of gold for years. In his book “Gold and Spirit” he traces the cultural history of this special metal and develops a theory of jewelry. Anyone who describes themselves as a philosopher will inevitably come across jewelry and gold at some point, he says: “Why decorate yourself? What is the purpose of this? Why don’t you start by admitting that you are what you are and that you show it? Man.” has the naked body.

Shine means smooth, flawless, youthful, new

After starting out with shells, snail shells and feathers, the first jewelry-making people quickly ended up with metal and gold. To this day, the most valuable things are made of gold or at least gold-colored: crowns, churches and mosques, wedding rings. What makes people love gold is its yellow color and shine, says Pravu Mazumdar.

Shine means smooth, flawless, youthful, new. Shine is light and light is a good thing. “The more precisely the material surface reflects the light, the more light-like the surface appears,” says the philosopher. And the most important source of light is the sun, because it has enormous importance for biological life. “That means: A mirror surface – philosophically speaking – pursues the ideal of being a double of the sun.”

Solar metal is called gold. And it is precisely because of its proximity to the sun that it is so popular in jewelry: decorating yourself is a form of self-optimization, says Mazumdar. “Making more of yourself means giving the impression that you are the source of a strange and distinctive light.”

From an economic point of view, the high price of gold is irrational

But what does the current rise in gold prices have to do with it? There is a clear divergence between the practical use of gold and its value on the capital market. The gold bars in the national banks are by no means the material warehouse of the semiconductor industry and people now make false teeth out of ceramic.

From an economic point of view, the high price of gold is irrational; you might as well buy diamonds. But the price will probably continue to rise, “because there are enough people who are attracted to it. If no one wanted gold, then it would be worthless, but you trade with it, you want gold, there is a collective desire,” says the philosopher Mazumdar.

For jewelry makers who work with gold, the high price is unreasonable. In addition to the time-consuming handwork, the cost of materials is now also driving up the prices for jewelry. Otherwise, it’s actually a nice thought that the whole world, from toddlers to state banks, from jewelry wearers to chip manufacturers, can at least agree on one thing: everyone wants gold.