Zelizer

I thought that the Zelizer article was extremely interesting. I think when we consider economics and intimacy an important concept to consider is utility. Utility is in itself, an interesting concept within economics because it essentially tries to place a numerical value on happiness, a concept that is radically different for every human being. When we think about intimacy, an important aspect of it is the real or potential happiness (or utility) we receive from it. Both money and intimacy can provide utility but the amount of utility each provides varies from person to person and from instance to instance. I think that money does have the potential to poison intimacy but so do many things. I see intimate relationships as exchanges of utility just as economic relationships are exchanges of utility, though I think they have different motivations. Conflict and corruption can easily arise from the intermingling of these spheres because of the strong emotions we assign to both of them and the cultural rules that define how we can carry out intimate relationships and economic exchanges. These negatives can just as easily be avoided too, it all depends on the values and stakes of the parties involved.