What is Money?

[Jasmine Firebender]

A piece of paper! Let me let you in on a little secret: money... you know, as in dollar bills... are worthless. They're just pieces of paper. There's nothing special about them, so why do we love them--no, need them--so much? Dollar bills are only worth something if you--and the rest of the world--plays along. Which they are, but why so?

[NightBender]

That's sorta an interesting question, but then again it's kinda thin. Obviously some people, perhaps many people, have an obsession with money. But a lot of people like money because it gives them a roof over their head, food on their table, a secure future for them and their children, and a means to keep earning those things, etc. We've evolved as a society from earning these necessities by trading and bartering more useful items than a silly piece of paper, but this system is more freeing and efficient.

[BlackInk]

I think a perfect world wouldn't have money. But that wouldn't work because if everything was free people would get ALOT of stupid things they don't need and to much of what they do need and no one would work a second with anything if they got no money for it. Society would then come to a complete stop and everything would be chaos since nothing is getting done by anyone. So we would probably go back to the stone age in like a month. But since pretty much no one is prepared or used to the stone age (duh) we would probably start dying and after some time all those used to a "modern life" would be dead and only those who already live only from what nature gives lives on. We need money.

But I actually do believe a world without money would be better. If only the moral foundation of humanity was somehow lifted up to a state where it wasn't so massivly selfish and dependent on others' failure so that it would actually work without killing everyone (see long text above).


tl;dr - We need money. But a world actually working without it would benefit alot of people.

[Archsage]

There's no real denying the fact that the world in which we live needs money. But even though we need money in order to function in an orderly manner, what does money mean to us? To me, money is just something I need to remain sufficient in a capitalistic global economy. Nothing more. To others, it's an object of self-indulgence. To others, it's a symbol of power and respect. Others hold it as literal trash. And even others hold it as more valuable than human life. I don't believe any one view is more correct then the other; money is a human invention. But I do believe some are more ethical than others, and that some are more beneficial then others. So that leaves me to ask a question:

How should we view money? I don't know.

[Jasmine Firebender]

Things would be simpler without money, I agree, but I'm not one of those people who say "money is the root of all evil." The love of money is the root of all evil, but in our imperfect world, money is a necessity.

[BlackInk]

I like how smart we all sound.

[Jasmine Firebender]

We do sound kinda smart. I think that's one of the main purposes for the "World Affairs" forum.

[Archsage]

Things would be simpler without money, I agree, but I'm not one of those people who say "money is the root of all evil." The love of money is the root of all evil, but in our imperfect world, money is a necessity.

Exactly. The whole "money is the root of all evil" is a gross distirtion of the words of our Christ. It's when people fall in love with money, that greed and corruption set in. That kind of mindset topples nations, causes impoverishment of peoples, and corrodes democratic-republican government. Which is why the Christ had said "The love of money is a root to all kinds of evil" (when properly translated from His original aramaic).

And yes, BlackInk, I really love how smart we all sound. That's why I love forums and discussions like these. We should always try to use our intelligence!

[Jasmine Firebender]

We sound like philosophers!

[Delmaar]

Appearance of smartness is lost when one double posts instead of using the edit button.