Negation of Self Identity and Efficacy: I turn to the first of Fromm’s (Fromm, 1941) four elements. This element relates directly to the matter of money and wealth. With the absence of money, we find that there is a negation of one’s sense of self-efficacy and control. An external locus of control prevails over an internal locus. How can one possibly confront volatility, uncertainty, and complexity with any sense of self-assurance? How can one navigate a world that is turbulent and filled with both ambiguity and contradiction? Fromm suggests that we escape from internal responsibilities by giving up the independence of our own individual self. We let other people (especially those in authority) do the confrontation and navigation of VUCA-Plus.
As I just noted regarding the dynamics of numinous enthrallment, the external takes control of the internal. We are no longer the “masters of our own souls” but have instead assigned this responsibility to some other persona or agency. Christopher Lasch (1984) would suggest that we diminish our sense of self (soul and all) under these conditions. We become a “minimal” self with very little in the way of a personal sense of identity or worth. We are ripe for control by an external entity that we perceive as being much bigger and more powerful than we are (a numinous authority).
Returning to the concept of locus of control, we find a clear and profound shift from an internal locus to an external locus. There is often an almost mythic sense that some powerful force in the world (or outside the world) is now propelling our personal and collective fate. Jung’s archetypes come into play again. We are aligned with some primitive image (archetype) to which we donate our personal agency and soul. This image is often associated with the allure of money and of those who have accumulated money and might, for some reason, give us some of this accumulated wealth. The images that proliferate regarding lotteries and winning money on a televised game show come immediately to mind.
We can bring Jung and Otto back into our analysis. The power associated with a source of money becomes a numinous experience. At a very deep, unconscious level, the numinous experience is founded in a primitive archetypal pattern that leaves our personal psyche (when we have little money) self-wounded and shrunk in size—creating the minimal self (Lasch, 1984) I mentioned above. Any kind of appreciative perspective regarding self is lost in the self-appraisal of deficiency. We are only saved, as unworthy recipients of forgiveness (for our sinful self), by the grace offered by an esteemed (and self-sacrificing) benefactor—be this someone who offers us a job, an agency that operates a lottery, or a game-show host with a briefcase filled with cash.
Jung’s Gold
There was the compelling attraction of gold for Jung. Beginning in Jung’s Red Book (2009), we see the allure of Gold as a color often used in his stunning portraits (Phanês, 2020). This color is represented throughout this mid-life revelation of Jung’s psychological and spiritual journey. We find Gold representing an often-unexpected highest value (gold stars, gold sun). This value (and accompanying power) resides in both the positive (gold ball) and negative (gold-crowned serpent) images of the Red Book. Gold is also found in Jung’s representation of impending birth, aspirations, and flight (golden wings, gold comet). A third use of Gold is found in Jung’s exploration of vision and foresight (golden eye).
