The concept of "Money"

Blair · Post by **Blair** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 1:04 pm

It's not pieces of paper, it's not material things that can be gained by its exchange. It's a concept. Out of human delusion arose this "illusion", that the material world can be harnessed, sold. A hoodwinking device.

What is money, truely?

Jamesh · Post by **Jamesh** » Wed Oct 05, 2005 3:22 pm

What is money, truely?

A formal organisational device which sets the parameters of competing greed in an effort to minimise physical conflict. It allows a wider market for one's efforts, which has the effect of minimising the degree of rule LOCAL power holders have over individuals.

Ras866 · Post by **Ras866** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 4:27 pm

Money is:

"A medium that can be exchanged for goods and services and is used as a measure of their values on the market, including among its forms a commodity such as gold, an officially issued coin or note, or a deposit in a checking account or other readily liquifiable account."

My 'concept' of money is:

Those greenback notes of paper that seem to be produced in an infinite amount that, if owned in a fairly decent quantity, will keep you warm, not hungry, entertained, and comfortable.

For others the concept of money means superiority by how much they are "worth" (double-meaning) over those who do not own as much money.

******
I also see it as, having enough money is just one less thing to worry about.

Ras

Diebert van Rhijn · Post by **Diebert van Rhijn** » Sun Oct 09, 2005 9:48 pm

prince wrote:What is money, truely?

"The root of all evil" but only in the sense it's the embodiment of the way we abstract and quantize the universe, while 'valuing" everything we see with it. It's the sister of clock.

Terribly efficient though for the games of the beast of economics.

Blair · Post by **Blair** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 11:23 am

The sister of clock?

I think I know what you mean. Can you expand on that though?

The purpose of this thread is to examine what money really is, what does it represent. What do Quinn, Rowden and Solway think about it?

Other than the obvious, money is "evil" etc. Even though it's just paper, than can be transformed into all manner of "things", what are the underlying reasons why the possession of money has such hypnotic allure to people?

Matt Gregory · Post by **Matt Gregory** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 1:25 pm

How about "freedom"? Money gives us the power to freely do what we want: buy things, eat at restaurants, pay bills, etc. If you want a girlfriend you pretty much have to buy your way into that unless she's really desperate, and even then she'll be wanting money eventually.

Leyla Shen · Post by **Leyla Shen** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 1:42 pm

Time is to clock,
As possession is to money...

Foresta Gump · Post by **Foresta Gump** » Mon Oct 10, 2005 1:56 pm

I have no money and I'm happy just the way I am. Never been a golddigger. Have morals, values, happiness, shelter, food, clothing
I don't want anymore. Just a good natured friend to a friend.
Money is good, but not to a recluse, I have no desire to go out into the public and display myself. Never wore a mans ring, didn't want one, had the no man can control me attitude, and none could. Never was the permiscuous kind. I controlled myself ultimately, from leaning towards evil of any kind, I wouldn't permit evil to enter in my life, and still won't. Not that I think sex is evil because I don't, but because of dedication to my virtuous nature.

Good Day

David Quinn · Post by **David Quinn** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 8:43 am

Socially, money is a convenience. It enables us to simplify transactions with a minimum of fuss. I don't have to haggle and barter with the shopkeeper for half-an-hour whenever I want a loaf of bread. It speeds up business, makes everyone more efficient and robot-like, and helps society progress.

Psychologically, money is a tool for control. Having money allows you to dictate more easily how you want to live your life. You're in a better position to extract happy experiences from life and avoid unpleasant ones. That's the theory the ego likes to believe in, at least.

Having money in your hand is like locking in a whole swathe of future happiness. Your ego suddenly feels that it has far more power to deal with whatever life has in store. This is why money is so important to people, for nothing makes the ego happier than acquiring that sense of power. It believes that it has scored significantly in its never-ending battle with Reality.

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Diebert van Rhijn · Post by **Diebert van Rhijn** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 9:55 am

prince wrote:The sister of clock?

I think I know what you mean. Can you expand on that though?

You wrote before: this "illusion", that the material world can be harnessed. That seems a fine summary of what I was trying to say in more words. Just for practical purposes we mentally 'harness' the world into fragments like time frames and objects, which we then can manipulate in our mind. This is to reality, like a map is to territory.

'Owning objects' or 'having time' are merely figures of speech and this is why it's the love of money that has been called 'the root of all evil', since it shows the most basic attachment to the most unreal.

But what lies underneath ownership? This seems way more connected to the psychological world of status, control or power. We don't own anything really, we only associate with it for a while when seen from a certain perspective. When living in a world of pure form, one could easily identify with the stuff one is surrounded with - or some lack of it, or by or the value in money it represents. An illusive life.

The efficiency of money as pure numbers forms the lifeblood of any advanced economy, a system to control resources including people. It that sense it goes way beyond people since only the system ('beast') really benefits as a whole from the massive flow and perhaps is only rewarding to the top of the human pyramid, but even they are dispensable.

Leyla Shen · Post by **Leyla Shen** » Tue Oct 11, 2005 10:22 am

'Owning objects' or 'having time' are merely figures of speech and this is why it's the love of money that has been called 'the root of all evil', since it shows the most basic attachment to the most unreal.

Such sweet redemption.

DHodges · Post by **DHodges** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 6:28 am

DavidQuinn000 wrote:This is why money is so important to people, for nothing makes the ego happier than acquiring that sense of power. It believes that it has scored significantly in its never-ending battle with Reality.

I think that sums it up pretty well. But on the 'score' issue that you mention in passing: Money is like points in a game. If you have more, you are doing better - you are winning.

So it's an ego thing from two ends: there's the security that goes along with having the money, but there's also the sense of getting ahead, having more than other people do. The ego judges itself against other people.

Blair · Post by **Blair** » Wed Oct 12, 2005 2:15 pm

Having more money doesn't always mean more security, It can just as easily mean less.

For example, owning a BMW M5 means you can travel at 200 mph, but it also carries the risk of causing a major accident, running some pedestrian down, and so on. The car is designed for safety and impact, the driver may survive, but does that make anyone else safer?

The question being, Is the trade off worth it? Does money actually make you more powerful, or less?

GENIUS FORUMS

The concept of "Money"

The concept of "Money"

Re: The concept of "Money"

TICK TOCK

I'm No Golddigger

:)

Money - it's a gas