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<p>It’s not necessarily a function of greed, Beliavsky. It’s that — and this is a world that you have a hard time envisioning, to be sure – there are things that add beauty and meaning to life that aren’t about money. </p>
<p>As an example, my alma mater, a highly selective school, is well known for its first-rate theater and music programs. Now, the majority of students graduating in those programs aren’t going to make the same as the students headed to medical school, law school, the engineering world, or Wall Street, of which there are also plenty at this school. </p>
<p>If you were to compare this school to a similarly situated school that doesn’t have top arts programs, the other school might come out ahead because more people are making the medical/law/engineering/Wall Street salaries. But so what? Would you actually think it preferable to go to a school where everyone does the same thing uniformly, as opposed to a school where there are people who love the arts and want to practice them? I think it’s terrific when I catch up with my classmates - one of them is a costume designer on Broadway who has won awards, she doesn’t make what the Wall Street gang does, but who cares? I can think of nothing more dreadful than to have a class reunion where everyone was in the same 5 or so most-lucrative careers that they chose because of their lucrativeness. Yawn. </p>
<p>I recognize, of course, that this is falling on deaf ears since you don’t see much value in anything other than concrete things and dollar bills in the bank. But nonetheless, I see more to life.</p>