Profits and Money

Marco Polo describes Olivia as a “city rich in products and in profits” (16) A city filled with fine palaces, and a lot of ornaments but at the same time it is covered by dark materials and grease. The cultural aspects are somewhat similar. It is known to be a calm city, but occasionally some one crack a laugh and jokes and sarcasm fill the city. 

On the cultural and physical aspects, there seems to be a clash, but it appears to be as if the inhabitants were trying to maintain a balance.

Marco Polo starts by describing a city which one imagines being wonderful. For the people who desire money and wealth, that is the place to go, but then that imaged is ruined because it is “shrouded in a cloud of soot and grease tat sticks to the house…” (pg 16) Who would want to live in a place like that?

Yet, you see it happening very often. Now-a-days people would do anything for money. The culture has evolved into one that revolves around wealth and power. Today, in order to be important, you have to have money or do some thing extraordinary. But to do some thing extraordinary, you have to have money, so it all goes back to wealth.  It is vital to mention, that money is not only a desire. It has become a need. Commodities are something every body would want to have, but that is not what money means. People with money to spare, do have commodities, but the majority of the people, need the money simply to survive.

I don´t know where this culture is going to take us but maybe it would be good to follow Khans advice: “my empire has grown too far towards the outside. It is time for it to grow within itself.” (pg.19) Money will always be a necessity in life, but it does not have to be the most important one.  Just like in Olivia, there should be occasional jokes that would break the importance of money and let other things come in.