Money

Society today, is composed of a series of institutions. From political institutions, legal institutions, religious institutions. To institutions of social class, familiar values, and occupational specialization.

It is obvious, the profound influence these traditionalized structures have in shaping our understandings and perspectives. Yet, of all the social institutions, we are born into, directed by, and conditioned upon.. There seems to be no system as taken for granted, and misunderstood, as the monetary system.

Taking on nearly religious proportions, the established monetary institution exists as one of the most unquestioned forms of faith there is. How money is created, the policies by which it is governed, and how it truly affects society, are unregistered interests of the great majority of the population.

In a world where 1% of the population owns 40% of the planets wealth. In a world where 34.000 children die every single day from poverty and preventable diseases, and, where 50% of the world’s population lives on less than 2 dollars a day… One thing is clear. Something is very wrong. And, whether we are aware of it or not, the lifeblood of all of our established institutions, and thus society itself, is money.

Therefore, understanding this institution of monetary policy is critical to understanding why our lives are the way they are. Unfortunately, economics is often viewed with confusion and boredom. Endless streams of financial jargon, coupled with intimidating mathematics, quickly deters people from attempts at understanding it. However, the fact is: The complexity associated with the financial system is a mere mask. Designed to conceal one of the most socially paralyzing structures, humanity has ever endured.

On July 20 2011 22:25 jodogohoo wrote:
What the hell is money? What does it represent? What does it do?

These are questions I want to ask yourself. What the shit is money? We all know it's what we exchange for goods. You want to buy sc2, you need money.

But where the fuck do we get money? Well we get money from doing work. Or at least that's where we should be getting money.

You do a job, you do a task, you do a service. You are doing something for the benefit of others, that's why you get paid. And with that, you go buy other shit that other people spent their time and effort to make for you.

Look the point I'm trying to get at is that the amount of money you have should represent the amount of good you've done for others. But is this the case in today's society?

Have you "earned" you're money?
I personally haven't earned any of the money I've spent or possess.

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This will hopefully be a part of a series of blogs dealing with my view on money in today's society.

+ Show Spoiler +

On July 20 2011 22:31 chomsky wrote:
I think you are referring to a meritocracy, and we don't really live in one, no.

On July 20 2011 22:35 Zorkmid wrote:
From Zeitgeist Addendum (Peter Joseph)

On July 20 2011 22:41 OmniEulogy wrote:
Some people put too much importance over money... some too little. It's better than bartering for all of our goods though. I'll trade you a chicken for sc2? Just doesn't seem as appealing.

On July 20 2011 22:58 LML wrote:
what, why would I have to do good to other people to earn money?
What if my job totally does not involve other people, as mine does, I am not suppossed to earn alot of money for what I really love to do?
That almost makes sense.

Besides, I guess it's okay, I served my social duty in a hospital, 8 months of work with people should qualify me, right?

On July 20 2011 22:25 jodogohoo wrote:
Currently in my life, I have found and met many people who have great amounts of money and haven't done any actual beneficial work for society to earn their money. I see this mainly with young people spending their parents money.

I feel this picture doesn't look right. People should have to earn the money the spend. However I'm not sure how we would come up with a general agreed upon standard for "earning and deserving money".

But yeah, the point I'm trying to get is that thee amount of money a person has should represent how much good they've done for other people.

What do you guys think about this?

On July 20 2011 23:12 exalted wrote:
LOL at OP. But yeah, life isn't fair.

On July 20 2011 23:13 beberly wrote:


THIS is a much more interesting question, I think. I guess I'll answer it with a counterfactual. Consider a world in which young people can't get their parents' money or property (I think we can agree that minor dependents should be exemted from this....we don't want 7 year olds having to work for their supper =] ). What would we do with wealth upon the death of the wealth holder? The wealth holder obviously worked to get their wealth. If we give it back to the government, it will be distributed to people who didn't earn it. If we give it to a charity, it will be given to a group/individuals who didn't do anything to earn that money. If we distribute it evenly to everyone, everyone gets money they didn't do any work to get, other than outliving the dead guy.

But look at the child of the deceased. They provided joy to the wealth holder (usually parents love their children). They were a source of pride for their parents. They did more "work" for the money than Random Person X. There is also the evolutionary imperative to take care of our young. Parents value the safety and security of their children, and inheritance allows parents to continue to take care of their children even after the parent dies.

I did, however, come across an interesting story. One of the hosts of the UK TV show The Shark Tank (a wealthy investor) has set up trusts for his money. When he dies, his children don't get his money directly. Instead, the trust pays out funds to match money that the children earn on their own.The rates vary by age and income, but the child must effectively "work" for their inheritance. It's interesting, and perhaps something like that might be more palatable to you? You seem to be a little fed up with Hilton-like "rich kids," which I think we all have some experience with. I feel you there.

On July 20 2011 23:13 jodogohoo wrote:

lol yeah pretty much T_T



Hmm I think what I'm secretly getting at, "subconsciously D:<", is that people shouldn't be able to spend their money on whatever they want. And that is a terrible idea as it goes against the freedom of spending the money you earn. Parents should be able do what they want with their money, regardless of possible externalities or irresponsible consequences.

uhh regarding the parents property... hmm... i have no answers to that, i guess inheritance is the best decision...



hmmmm yeah, i think i can see where i went wrong here. hopefully I can take this blog and produce some better work in the future

On July 20 2011 23:49 Chill wrote:
I believe in freedom. People should do whatever they want.

Edit: I always respect charitable people, because I'm not very charitable myself.

I don't think people should have money related to how much good they do because that's an idealist view that has no practicality to it. People should, and do, have money related to how much utility they provide.

On July 20 2011 22:25 jodogohoo wrote:
What do you guys think about this?

On July 20 2011 23:44 OpticalShot wrote:
So yes, there are tons of kids just blowing their parents money away like it's nothing and is contributing basically nothing (or contributing negatively) to society.

On July 20 2011 23:56 Malyce wrote:


The problem being that the measure of utility is biased.

People have many for several reasons. The first being the place they are born, and its heritage in exploiting the world's resources. In Switzerland we've done that marvellously over many years, and are now a very wealthy country.

The second is your family, the education and training they provide you with, their contacts, etc.

The third is you, and your job. Utility isn't an objective measure, the money you have depends on to what extent what you do is appeciated by people who have money. That's why Bill Gates is richer than than any Human Rights activist for example.

As to what money is, it's a piece of paper that is unique and is given symbolic trade value. Note the symbolic.