A common euphemism describing heaven is that its streets are paved with gold. I know this is just a folk saying, but I take umbrage at the lack of understanding about basic economics baked into that saying. The value of an object is based on supply and demand. Thus, if supply increases drastically (say, enough to pave the streets of an entire city) then no one will care about it.
I will present two cases here to support my argument. The first is the story of aluminum. Emperor Napoleon reserved his aluminum silverware for his best guests, and the actual silver utensils were left for the less important diners. One of the best things you can do to prepare for a trip to the medieval ages is to buy a six pack of soda and dump the soda. That aluminum you have will be worth more than gold.
Aluminum is actually very hard to find in its natural, unoxidized state in nature. This material is known as "native aluminum," and is very scarce in its natural form. However, aluminum is actually the most common metal in the Earth's crust. It's just packed away as an oxide called "bauxite," and requires electricity to be refined.
After the invention of the process to refine aluminum from bauxite was invented, the price of aluminum fell. That is an obvious result. However, a less obvious result was the loss of the prestige surrounding the metal. No self respecting emperor would serve his best guests with aluminum utensils. Those you can buy four for a dollar at the Dollar Tree. (Edit from the future: it's now $1.25. Sad.)Do you see what I'm getting at? "Streets paved with gold" implies that gold is not only valued less monetarily, but socially as well.
Another point: plastic. Plastic is a wonder material that, I will argue, is as versatile as gold when it comes to possible applications. Gold can be used in a myriad of ways, and it doesn't react with the environment (which is, arguably, its best attribute.) So what? Plastic doesn't react either! It stays for thousands of years without breaking down! I argue that if the occurrence of plastic and gold were reversed, one would see plastic wedding rings and roads paved with gold. That says nothing about the wealth or standard of living of a society. Our roads are literally paved with "plastic," or, rather, a derivative of petroleum known as asphalt.
Measuring the wealth of a society through its basic economic assets (ones that do not, on their own, raise standards of living,) is a misguided endeavor.
Let me give you one more story, about the history of El Dorado, the famous golden city in the jungle. I will explain the line of reasoning that (arguably) brought this myth to life. When the Spanish invaded the Aztecs and stole all their gold, they noticed that everyone was wearing gold jewelry. Now, in European cultures, gold is first and foremost an asset, and secondly a form of decoration. Thus, the Spaniards concluded, if the Aztecs are using this much gold for jewelry, imagine how much they have stored away for use as money!
They never found that money. Aztecs simply valued gold and silver differently. They used it for jewelry first, and money a distant second. This dissonance led the conquistadors to believe that there was a city of gold just waiting for them out there--thus, El Dorado.
My final point is this: be careful when ascribing value to resources. They are only as useful as the ways in which they are used. A heaven paved with gold would be no different than a heaven paved with asphalt. The relative abundance of materials is more important than any intrinsic value of that material.
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