1)In your opinion, is money important in a relationship? Consider the 'transactional' element observed in the relationships between the couples.
2)Do you think there is an upward trend of relationships and marriages valuing money over other qualities? Provide examples for your responses.
1)I feel that, although money is an important factor to consider in a relationship, I do not think that it is most important.
I believe, the essence of whether of not to be in a relationship is whether you would be happy. After all, you would most probably be living with that person forever. If you do not truly love that person and do not feel happy when being together with him/her, the marriage would be pointless, and you will spend the next half of your life locked up in chains of regret.
A true couple must be one where both people are willing to sacrifice their own interests for each other. However, when you value money over anything else in a relationship, then it would be incredibly one-sided, with the other party(provided he/she actually truly loves you) constantly supplying you with money and you doing nothing in return. Of course, you would love the truckloads of cash entering your bank account, but soon you will become more and move ambitious later and eventually you would remarry to another person with more money, with the obvious purpose of being a parasite - feeding on his/her money. Is that called true love? Would you be truly satisfied by just being with that person?
Furthermore even if you truly love that person, just that you place money over love, that person would be working all day and night just to satisfy your desires. We all know, love takes time to actually manifest itself, and if your lover has absolutely no time to spend with you as all his/her time is wasted on trying to earn money, would you be truly happy in the end? Probably after a few years both of you would, despite being a couple, hardly speak to each other anymore, and the love gradually fades.
Of course, in the materialistic society of today, money is definitely required, whether to satisfy the basic needs or the perhaps unnecessary wants, but I still believe, that happiness and love is the ultimate goal of a relationship.
2)Yes, I do. As our society becomes increasingly materialistic, where people would work all day just to earn a few pieces of metal, true love is definitely becoming more and more overlooked. Romance and stuff like Romeo and Juliet would probably be laughed at by people, thinking that love is a foolish, unwanted and completely redundant feeling. As for examples, I think statistics speak for themselves. As people get more and more affluent, they would get faster cars, larger houses. However, the gap between the rich and poor would widen dramatically and cause the poor to have worse living conditions than before. Choosing between having a partner as a rich and as a poor would basically be equivalent to choosing between heaven and hell.
I agree with you that a relationship should be based on happiness instead of money. A relationship, and eventually marriage, would determine the two people's second half of their lives and thus happiness should be the key to the relationship. There is no point staying with a partner for half a lifetime just to get his or her money. Money can be used up, but if love is deep enough, it would last a lifetime, and thus it is the key to a happy and meaningful relationship.
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