"No White Flag Above My Door": The Value of Romanc

Can Money Buy Me Love?
Money can generate love but it cannot buy love


"Say you don't need no diamond ring and I'll be satisfied
Tell me that you want the kind of thing that money just can't buy
I don't care too much for money, money can't buy me love." The Beatles

 "Everyone should have enough money for plastic surgery." Beverly Johnson

"Getting divorced just because you don't love a man is almost as silly as getting married just because you do." Zsa Zsa Gabor

 Can money buy us love? It seems that there is no simple answer to this question. If love is like religion, then it cannot be bought nor can it be negotiated. If romantic interaction is similar to a commercial transaction, then love can be bought and can be negotiated (and compromised). Love seems to be similar to both, but identical to neither.

Avishi Margalit describes two pictures of politics: politics as economics and politics as religion. If politics is viewed as economics, it is entirely subject to compromise and exchange. If politics is viewed as religion, there are aspects that must be considered sacrosanct and on which we must never negotiate or compromise. Margalit argues that economic life is based on substitution: one good can be replaced by another. Accordingly, there is ample room for negotiation and compromise in economic life.

Is love similar to religion or to economics? It seems that in different aspects, love is similar to both religion and commercial behavior.

In many respects, romantic love resembles a kind of religion (see here). They are similar in that they dictate basic beliefs, demand fundamental moral standards, and bestow high personal value upon their objects. The basic assumptions underlying the Romantic Ideology can indeed be found in many monotheistic religions. Like many religions, the Romantic Ideology is basically characterized by its comprehensive and uncompromising nature. Not unlike the function of religion, love is considered to give meaning to life, to overcome all obstacles, and to offer a share in eternity. The similarity between love and religion is also expressed in the resemblance of the beloved to God. The beloved is often characterized as "the sweetest angel in heaven and on earth," and as a "divine gift." The beloved is perceived to be a perfect person whose existence cannot be comprehended.

The relationship between God and His people has been described in the Bible and elsewhere in romantic terms, such as betrothal and marriage. When the People of Israel followed their idols, they were like an unfaithful lover-their activities are described as betraying