“The average annual salary of an NFL player is 1.2 million dollars. For this, they are expected to play the game in an entertaining manner.

The average salary of a university professor is less than a hundred thousand dollars, and for that sum, it is expected that they will educate many individuals, and perhaps through their influence, cause their students to change the destiny of mankind.”

“An attractive movie star can make 20 million dollars for appearing in a film, and for this they are expected to entertain us for a couple hours…The average doctor earns 187 thousand dollars a year, with the expectation that they will save the lives of hundreds of people,” according to B. W. Holmes from his essay, On The Material Value Of Individuals.

These comparisons may seem shocking, but they are the brutal truth of our society. So what makes the salary scale so out of proportion, and why?

Part of the problem comes from the idea of “survival of the fittest” and every person trying to create a life of their own. Another idea is that entertainers and athletes “offer a… diversion from our daily trials and tribulations, as did the jesters in the king’s court during the middle ages,” states Joe Bialek from a message board about entertainer’s income on www.favoritenet.com.

The entertainment industry is big because they are what every human aspires to be. They form an illusion of perfection; an illusion of having “it all” when in reality the “it all” is simply a lot of money--our money. In essence, they are like our creation, which we like to see flourish and brag about.

However, a main cause is pure marketing. Since, “economics are controlled by supply and demand, and because the masses demand entertainment at any price, the market will supply it. If people were as passionate about curing cancer, and directed the same amount of disposable income toward research as they now do for spectator sports, companies would compete for a share of the wealth; subsequently driving up salaries for scientists, and motivating young people into making science a career choice,” comments B.W. Holmes. Thus it can be reasoned that the consumer is the reason for such a society, by deciding what to invest their money in.

“The fact of the matter is that we don’t really care that this is the case…all those billions of dollars could be put to better use, and next week (we) go out and spend a couple of hundred dollars on tickets for the next game,” according to B. W. Holmes from his essay, On The Material Value of Individuals.

While I feel that this conclusion might be somewhat harsh, I agree that it is more of “our” fault than originally foreseen. The difference I would like to provide is that there are many generous people from all walks of life who donate to charities, and already realize how important other individuals are for humanity. They provide a semi-stable world, in which not all is fair, but all is human.