We are often advised not to run after wealth, power, influence etc. Yet we humans crave these things all the more.
What could help explain this behaviour?
Nature has designed creation such that, every creature once born, fights to survive, to reproduce, rear their young and to die. We humans are no different even though we have concealed this fact under tomes of religious and intellectual literature.
Mating is carried out by a process of natural selection, wherein males and female pair off after a rigorous selection game. Males parade, dance, gift females in an effort to woo them.
First they have to fight off other competing males. In the animal world this was almost always about favourable physical characteristics of strength and stamina of the male.
The strong gets the best female and often all of the females in the group. A strong male would possess strong genes thus ensuring maximum chances of survival of the offspring as as compared to weaker members of the species. Hence the females were either attracted to or willingly submitted to such strong winning males.
This was and remains the norm for primitive human, a large part of our biological drive. That is why the physique and features are still a very dominant factor, in the selection game.
With time humans have become more sophisticated, now strength means wealth, resources, power, influence, etc. Now a wealthy male attracts the best females. Wealth, fame and power ensures the best chances of the safety and comfort for the female and maximum chances of survival of the offspring.
That is why it is quite common to see handsome females, even intelligent ones being drawn to males who are wealthy, famous and powerful even if they are not so attractive in physical terms.
One has to simply look around and see the inordinate amount of money, time and effort females spend on trying to enhance their looks. They invest in clothes, jewellery, beauty treatments, body and skin toning programs etc. This is their biological need, even if they do not consciously understand why they indulge in it.
Gossip is also indispensable, market intelligence gathering about which females are in the competition and which males are the best targets, for themselves or their daughters.
Males which used to earlier devote in an inordinate amount of effort in being physical attractive now invest more effort and resources on acquiring wealth and power. That is why socialising with people who will help them acquire more money and power is so vital.
Males acquire houses, cars, clothes, jewellery, and other ostentatious items which display their status and thus attract the more of and the best possible mates.
This was and remains the fundamental driver for male and female attitudes and behaviour.
Modern society and economics it seems is now in direct conflict with our biology.
However things have become more complex nowadays. Humans are living much, much longer. More women are now active in areas of work and wield more economic and social power becoming independent of males. They have in a way become quasi males, as a result do not see the need for forming a pair bond with a male. This in turn makes them less attractive to many males.
Marriages are gradually falling out of favour, but frequency of sexual intercourse and casual relationships is much higher between males and females due to number of reasons. Break down of social barriers which segregated male and females. Birth Control makes promiscuous behaviour less risky. The invasion of the state into the home now by taking responsibility for the protection of women and children means less dependence on men and therefore women less tolerant of previously accepted 'normal' male behaviour or worse the increasing tendency to emasculate men.
The fate of males in society today is precarious and highly stressful. That is why more men commit suicides ( twice as many as women), marriages and relationships break up easily and more frequently.
Men and women are different but function best as a team. Great teams are born when partners understand and respect themselves and their team partner. Instinct is always more powerful than reason in the human animal. Sadly as we descend lower as animals we smugly justify ourselves with greater intellect.
In the end only when we can transcend from physical and mental creatures to spiritual beings, that we can find true bliss.