Running head: A PERSONAL RENAISSANCE Riches 1

A Personal Renaissance by Crystal Riches

Business 1050: Foundations of Business
25 April 2017
Salt Lake Community College
A PERSONAL RENAISSANCE Riches 2

A renaissance is simply a time of awakening or renewal in a spiritual or conceptual space.

My personal renaissance was when I read about Henry David Thoreaus piece on critical
thinking and how it is best approached alone and fervently. It is important to not allow others
opinions to thwart ideas prematurely (Thoreau). This was quite eye opening to me and I became
aware of my many habits towards critical thinking that were thwarting my ability to make sound
decisions. I will explain what my approach was to critical thinking before this class, then address
how the other readings for this class came alive when I approached them with Thoreaus theory
and was able to identify many other business topics within the reading that I may not have
otherwise; the business sense of the Vikings, the solidity of knowing and truth, the proof that
business topics such as demand, supply, opportunity cost were prevalent without even being
discovered yet, as well as trade.
Thoreau caught my attention when I was reading the article Economy because he spoke
about the value of isolation and pondering ideas and discussions before gathering an opinion.
the factitious cares and superfluously coarse labors of life that its finer fruits cannot be plucked
by them (Thoreau). This was the main theme of the article and he says that all people need to do
to understand that falseness of the claim that you were born into poverty and therefore will stay
in poverty. All it takes to understand the falsity of the theory is isolation and through that time of
self-inquiry one will find a path that was otherwise hidden. Thoreaus claim is that a way to rise
above poverty will be shown. Thoreaus way to rise was through business ventures and finding
time to reflect on the current standing of oneself.
I have always been a very impressionable when it comes to opinions on matters regarding
many topics. I find it hard to wade through opinions and facts on a subject and come out with a
solid opinion of my own. That is, until I read of Henry David Thoreau and his ability to remove
himself from society and be able to see clearly the path that makes the most sense. I have now
made it a practice to read an article and will consciously take the time to go to my own figurative
woods and be able to wade through the studies and find the path that I most agree with, instead
of relying on others opinions to pad my own flimsy ideas.
Since I read the piece by Thoreau and have tried to understand these topics logically. I
have found that my reading comprehension of philosophical pieces has increased and I am able
to understand the business foundations that existed even before their fruition. Firstly, the
understanding of business tactics within the Viking culture. They saw the need for certain items
that were plentiful in one area, but unattainable in another. This is a perfect example of demand
and supply. So, the Vikings took the opportunity into their own hands and were able to establish
a strong business plan. Within their plan was a quintessential example of importation and
exportation of goods into other countries and made a profit. They were also able to build a very
strong work ethic because they allowed their workers to have a fraction of the wealth which is a
small example of the stock exchange and that a worker is compensated not only by a decided
salary, but also by obtaining a small fraction of the overall earnings. Up until a few hundred
years later, the Vikings had monopolized the trade industry. However, as other people started to
see the success of the Vikings, they started to imitate their business plan and thus started
competition within the industry which increased the need for stronger technology to separate
themselves and dissolved the monopoly that had been currently present. Once the number of
businesses trying to maximize profits increased, the demand for importation and trade decreased
which decreased the price and the industry eventually went down (Veblen, 1919).
A PERSONAL RENAISSANCE Riches 3

Secondly, the definition of knowledge and truth are extremely factually based and anything
that cannot be definitively proven, is not knowledge or truth, it is merely a belief or opinion. This
was a very shocking approach to me because I was habitually calling claims and theories truth
and it has now become a goal to use the words truth and knowledge very sparingly and when I
choose to use them I have proof and a base for the statements. Reality was another term that I
have used loosely within my vocabulary that indeed needs to be scientifically sound and proven
before it can be called real. (Engh).
Thirdly, I was reading the piece by Edward Bulwer and Lord Lytton when I realized that the
piece was a metaphor for socialism right when the main character entered the cave and met its
leader. The society was thriving in a socialistic society because they all worked hard and were
equal. However, there were many blanket statements made within the piece that those who are
advocates of socialism tend to say that is not usually indicative of the actuality of society. For
example, the leader of the society was giving the main character a tour and she made a statement
stating that no one thought that there was an alternative way to run the society, so there was no
research to be had in the subject (Bulwer, Lytton). This is inferring that not a soul is upset about
the way the society is ran and there is no way to know how everyone feels within a culture,
especially socialism. People are not completely equal in their desires, ambitions, and goals. If
socialism is a part of society then it squelches competition with feeds off desire, ambition, and
allows people to reach their goals (Bulwer, Lytton).
I was enthralled with the article on the Tulip demand that spread across the world. It
spread because the tulip bulbs were so rare that their price was quite high. It was the
quintessential risk people were willing to take in hopes of an even larger gain. Families were
selling their entire property to buy a bulb and possibly resell it for a profit and buy their property
back. Many people made money using this method. However, it was eventually usurped when
many people saw the opportunity and decided to enter the market and raise tulip bulbs with the
hope of selling them. This brought on a saturation of the market and the price attached to tulips
were no longer valid. The demand for them had substantially lowered and the price decreased.
This is a notable example of supply and demand. However, it is also a fitting example of
opportunity cost as well. Many people put more value within the tulip that they were willing to
risk their livelihood that had a smaller opportunity cost (given that their tulips would sell) and
they were able to make a profit (Mackey, 1848).
Lastly, I found it extremely interesting to learn about the exchange for paper money
within Chinese culture. I enjoyed learning that an emperor decided that he could exchange
citizens precious stones and coins that were cumbersome and heavy for thin, lightweight paper
that could be a reputable equivalent of wealth to keep the paper moneys value. It caught on very
quickly and other countries were developing their own way to establish paper money and its
value. Today we have advanced the process even more because all you need is a piece of plastic
to prove that you have money and it eliminates the need for paper money at all. This is an
incredible piece of ingenuity and proactive thinking. The article also stated that the emperor
thought that if the people had an ability to carry more wealth around with them, they were more
apt to spend more money and enhance the economy that way (Polo, 1300).
I believe that starting with the piece written by Thoreau and his advice of going to the
metaphorical woods to ponder on ideas set me up for success with this study. I was able to think
about every piece of writing and looking for my opinion within the words rather than focusing so
A PERSONAL RENAISSANCE Riches 4

much on others opinions and trying to filter out the fodder and be left with the facts. It is best to
start with the facts and come out being more knowledgeable about facts and not a connoisseur of
opinions. I learned that there is a vast difference between truth, reality, and opinion. As well as
the evidence supporting many business topics that were not discovered yet, were still a strong
part of society without being studied; supply and demand, opportunity cost, the value that
decreases when a market is saturated, importing and exporting items where the demand is
highest, and lastly the beginning of currency in replacing precious stones.
A PERSONAL RENAISSANCE Riches 5

References
Bulwer, Edward, Lytton. 1871. The Coming Race
Engh, Edward G. Critical Thinking
Mackey, Charles. 1848. Tulipomania
Polo, Marco. 1300. The Travels
Thoreau, Henry David (1854). Economy.
Veblen, Thorstein (1919). The Vikings, An Early Experiment in Trusts: An extract from THE
PLACE OF SCIENCE IN MODERN CIVILIZATION AND OTHER ESSAYS.