Have you ever noticed that lots of smart people have contempt for money? Not all of them, of course, but enough for the destitute genius to become a stereotype.
I used to be one of them, I suppose. Indoctrinated with four years of English Literature and Philosophy, I regarded it with a kind of smoldering resentment, not just because I was broke (and I was), but because I hated how the necessity of it could trump a life of intellectual rigor. It seemed an awful waste.
No one else seemed to understand, either. I resented that too. Talking about it now, it sounds foolish, but if you were ever labeled as the “smart kid,” you know what I’m talking about.
You’ve been told over and over again that someone of your intelligence should find it easy to make money. Silently (or not), everyone thinks you’re wasting your God-given talents by not applying them for personal gain.
But they don’t get it, do they? To you, life is not an exercise in how much money you can accumulate. There are so many things that are more interesting, more important, and more relevant to you.
The Pursuit of Meaning
In fact, it’s not so much the money you resent, as people trying to force you into a mold in which you don’t fit. All you want is to be left alone to explore the world in your own way, to not be shoved into the giant business machine and assimilated like the Borg.
You were born with something special, something that you can use to transform the world in any number of ways. Money just seems… beneath you. How could you possibly respect yourself if you dedicated your life to bringing home a paycheck?
You don’t want money. You want a meaningful life. And a life spent in the pursuit of money is anything but meaningful.
Right? Well… that’s what I thought, but now I realize that I hadn’t thought it through. Let me explain.
What It’s like to Be Smart
When you’re smart, you can see beyond how things presently are, and you can envision how those things could be. I could probably name product, and you could tell me ways to improve it. It’s probably instinctive. Flaws and opportunities just seem to “jump out at you,” and you can’t help seeing them.
You’re probably proud of the ability, but it’s also a source of misery. Regardless of what you’re looking at, nothing quite measures up to what it could be. And it bothers you. Since you know how to make it better, you want to make it better, but no one else seems to care. Feeling powerless, you stop, but you’re still haunted by the imperfection.
Money Is a Band-Aid
Consciously or not, I think most smart people understand that money is a Band-Aid for an imperfect system. In a perfect world, we would live in a state of absolute abundance, able to have or do anything we wanted. We could work (or not), sleep (or not), travel (or not). We would be in complete control of every moment of our lives, able to explore it in any way we wished.
It’s the purest form of freedom imaginable. Unfortunately, it doesn’t exist yet. In the present, we live in a world of relative scarcity, where there’s not enough of anything for everyone. Not everyone can drive the best cars, live in the best houses, or work in the best jobs, because, frankly, there aren’t enough of them.
Money is one system we’ve created for dealing with the problem of scarcity. The more of it you have, the more abundance you have. You can buy things, do things, and persuade people in ways that others can’t. In this sense, money gives you more choices, and as an extension, more freedom. The richest people in the world can do almost anything they want.
For many of us though, a lack of money has the opposite effect. It creates a type of wage slavery, where you have to trade your freedom to others in exchange for money in order to survive. For instance, you might’ve wanted to sleep in this morning, but you couldn’t, because you had to go to work and make money. So, you subordinated your individual wishes to the almighty dollar and got out of bed.
It’s ironic, if you think about it. Money is supposed to be a way for distributing freedom, but in order to get that freedom, you have to give yours up. The majority of the world never gets out of that loop, doing their best to balance “life and work,” or how much freedom they receive and give away.
Smart People Can See the Problem
Many of the wealthiest people in business aren’t particularly smart or perceptive. Have you noticed that? They don’t even notice the flaws in the system, and they advance without even thinking about it. Like Cypher said in The Matrix, “Ignorance is bliss.” Not noticing the reality of things makes it easier to cooperate and advance.
But smart people don’t have that luxury. Consciously or subconsciously, we recognize the flaws in the business system, and we can’t stop seeing them. If you try to “fit in,” so you can make more money, it’s always there in the background, like a water faucet dripping while you’re trying to sleep.
So you pull away. Others see it as laziness and label you as the “smarty that can’t get his/her act together,” but for you, it’s about internal congruency. You can’t work toward something you don’t believe in, and you don’t believe in perpetuating a flawed system. Moreover, nobody in business seems to see things the same way, and the simplicity of their views irritates you.
In fact, it all irritates you.
The Power of Acceptance
The problem with being irritated, angry, or downright hateful is it clouds your thinking. You get caught up in all of the things that bother you and never learn how to see past them. It turns into a type of “thought loop” that many smart people stay in for their entire lives.
And there’s only one way out: acceptance.
At some point, you have to look at the world and say, “Well… this is how it is.” You realize that, while irritation or anger may be justified, both emotions are ineffective. Not only do negative emotions cloud your thinking, but they also make you miserable. You don’t want to be miserable, so the only response is to stop judging the world for its imperfection.
In a way, it’s like forgiveness. Most “real” thinkers are resistant to such concepts, turned off by the religious overtones, but from my experience, it’s the only way to progress. As a smart person, I wasn’t able to start moving forward in creating the world I really want until I “forgave” money for its imperfections.
If you can do that, everything starts to become… clear. You understand that you can pursue money without giving up your ideals. In fact, money is just a tool for helping you transform those ideals into reality.
The Truth about Money
When I wrote my last article, 38 Reasons to Hate Money and Everything It Requires, at least a dozen people sent me quotations of a passage from Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged where Francisco d’Anconia issues a passionate defense of money. It’s a lovely passage, and you should read it, but here’s one piece I’d like to hone in on:
“Have you ever looked for the root of production? Take a look at an electric generator and dare tell yourself that it was created by the muscular effort of unthinking brutes. Try to grow a seed of wheat without the knowledge left to you by men who had to discover it for the first time. Try to obtain your food by means of nothing but physical motions–and you’ll learn that man’s mind is the root of all the goods produced and of all the wealth that has ever existed on earth.”
I’m sure you’ve heard that, “Money is just a tool,” but have you really stopped to think that through? To figure out what it means? Yes, it’s just a tool, but it’s a tool for accumulating the influence necessary to change things. It’s a bridge between the way things presently are and the way you would like them to be. It’s a direct extension of your mind.
For smart people, the object of their mind is often a more perfect world. Having money means you can rectify problems, rather than being haunted by them. Having money means that you can employ people in your efforts, rather than being ignored by them. Having money means possessing the power to make the world a little more perfect, rather than having to endure its imperfections.
Let me ask you something. Do you want to be a part of that?
The Choice
Really, it comes down to a very simple choice. If it makes you more comfortable, we can make it a multiple-choice question:
What do you want to do?
A) Label money evil because all of the problems it causes, and do your best to have nothing to do with it
B) Accept that money is essential for truly embodying your ideals and make enough create the life you want
It seems obvious, but you can justify either choice. Money does create all kinds of problems in the world, and if you want to hate it, you can find lots of good reasons.
That’s the reason why I wrote 38 Reasons to Hate Money and Everything It Requires. I thought it would resonate with people, and it did. The post got over 700 votes on digg and brought about 20,000 visitors to On Moneymaking.
Do I personally hate money? No.
I accept that it’s an imperfect system, and that it’s unlikely to change as long as we have to deal with scarcity. I accept that it’s a system that’s going to play a big part in my life, whether I like it or not. I accept that I can either master the system or be punished by it.
I made those decisions several years ago, and while I’m nowhere close to claiming absolute mastery over it, I do have enough money to get up every day and do pretty much whatever I want.
So, it seems to be working, and I’d recommend that anyone else struggling with their conception of money take the time to really think through it.
Maybe you’ll come to different conclusions. Maybe you won’t. But at least have the courage to look at it objectively.
.
Once again great post. I once watched a show about apes which made me realize the same point you are making. When it rains apes can’t create shelter, they may hold a leaf over their head, but that is far as it will get. The human experience is all about creating tools. Money is just a tool that is currently available. It’s not the best tool and maybe after our lifetimes there will be something better in place. Once I realized that right now it is the best tool for its flexibility and in how it can grow over time, I realized how important it is to make enough of this tool so I can build my shelter and block myself from the rain (corporate America and the brainwashing of hte public).
I think this really speaks to a lot of people. I have always thought to myself: If I’m so smart, why aren’t I rich?
Either I’m not as smart as I think I am or being smart wasn’t the answer. Turns out it was a bit of both. I am smart about many things, but money isn’t one of them, so that’s where I need to learn.
And as you have pointed out, it isn’t necessarily the smartest people who make the most money.
And on top of everything else, learning to deal with money effectively and manage one’s personal (and business) finances seems to amount to psychological therapy in overcoming the ways in which many of our parents taught us (poorly) about money.
In fact that might be a good idea for a future post.
You just described my life perfectly. And I eventually reached the same conclusion. I’m still not rich, but I don’t work to get rich. I have respect for money and what it can do, but I’ve realized that my life is mine to do as I wish and I will use my skills to help others. If doing what I love leads to wealth then I’ll accept that. But time is much more precious than money. I can always make more money, but I can’t make more time. Therefore, I’ve decided to focus my energy on making the most of the time that I have and let the wealth take care of itself.
Alexander: Sure, I suppose that’s a way of looking at it. Money is probably the most powerful tool we’ve ever created. But I think the Internet is gaining on it
Michael: Thanks for the idea. I’ll do some thinking on it.
Allen: Certainly seems like you’ve thought through it, which is something 99.9% of people never do. The question is, do you have enough money to do everything you want? If not, then the lack of money is constraining the things you can do with your time. You could give your time more long-term flexibility by temporarily sacrificing some of it to make money.
Jon, Answer: Not yet.
On your last statement: Yes, that’s where I am now. But I’ve learned that doing what I enjoy for less pay is better than doing something I hate for more. I used to think that doing what I enjoy couldn’t (or wouldn’t) make me as much money. I was wrong. But it takes time and while I’m “temporarily sacrificing,” I’m doing what I like doing. So it really isn’t a sacrifice.
If I don’t get rich, I’ll still be happy. If I get rich doing what I enjoy then I’ll just be happier. Most people live a sad existence in which they work a job they hate and still never get rich. And they work up hill because they are full of debt.
At 20, I learned that an education is good. At 25, I learned it isn’t everything. At 30, I learned that debt is a killer. At 35, I learned that owning one’s own business is the best investment you can make. At 40, I resolved to put what I learned to action. I still have a long way to go but I’m doing what I love and that’s the best gift I’ve ever given myself.
Jon,
In your posts about money, which I thoroughly enjoyed, I found one thing lacking and that is the spiritual perspective.
I don’t think I need to expand upon the teachings of the great spiritualists, but I am curious to know your opinion.
Thanks,
Mark
@Mark: some people don’t consider it a lack.
I read your article and laughed at most of it. What was funny is, as I was about to type this reply, I hit Stumble again and came across this old piece of artwork.
http://surreality.info/up/success_large.jpg
How appropriate. I would say you guys fit in the bottom right-hand corner.
I am glad to see that you’ve come to terms with reality and decided to grace us with your presence in the workplace.
Even by your twisted logic, money isn’t the problem. You identified the real one yourself: scarcity. So why don’t you geniuses all get together and figure out how it is that we can all live a life of abundance where work is optional. Also, apply this Utopian “Abundanceland” view to woman so getting laid isn’t quite so scarce.
[...] Check This Out! While looking through the blogosphere we stumbled on an interesting post today. Here’s a quick excerpt: Consciously or not, I think most smart people understand that money is a Band-Aid for an imperfect system. In a perfect world, we would live in a state of absolute abundance, able to have or do anything we wanted. … [...]
Brilliant Jon. Lovely perspective.
All best, Jan
@ Michael – so lacking a spiritual perspective is a good thing?
@Mark – I think that when you leave it out it is a good thing. As do many many others.
Since you know how to make it better, you want to make it better, but no one else seems to care.
There’s the thing. You need to realize that it’s your job to make it better somehow. If you figure that out, and persevere with it, it’s bound to wind up creating wealth.
On another note – What crawled up Justin’s butt and died? Perhaps there’s a bit of projection going on there. If anything on this page had a Know-it-all, self-righteous tone it was Justin’s comment.
I love money because of what it can buy. A life spent in the pursuit of money is fine with me, as long as the pursuit is easy and fast and leaves me with the freedom and leisure to do as I please. Unfortunately, the pursuit is not always easy, fast, or enjoyable.
Well, I don’t know how smart I am but i honestly think that if smart people have money, they probably dont hate it at all… and if they are smart and have it, and hate it, they may just not have acquired the skills necessary to handle money and the responsibility.
I would think if you are smart and have money you might think quite differently? it’s possible right?
try it and let me know if i’m right:)
Money is a tool for allocating scarce resources, ensuring that people actually contribute as much to the economy as they take out of it.
You don’t have to get out of bed in the morning to produce wealth for others if you don’t want any of *their* productivity in return. Without money to act as a measure of someone’s economic contributions and limit their consumption to a level proportionate to their production, who would bother getting out of bed in the morning?
Money is not the cause of scarcity. Money doesn’t make people get out of bed in the morning to work, either. Scarcity does. Even in primitive agrarian societies with no money or equivalent, people get up and work their butts off because if they don’t, they won’t have the means to survive. Much of the complaints against money in this article look like complaints against the scarcity of resources that prevents self-styled intellectuals from pursuing their “higher” interests instead of actually contributing to the material well being of others by working for money.
Money is a fantastic tool. The price mechanism of a market system allocates resources according to consumer preferences. Prices convey information about what is feasible and what is not, the relative efficiency of various uses of resources, and what others would prefer we do for them.
Money is not responsible for scarcity. Stop blaming it for the problems that scarcity brings about, and instead acknowledge that money is hands down the best tool that humanity has ever come up with for dealing with scarcity. You’re confusing the medicine with the disease.
I think the reason is that money can act as a flensing knife for the ego of the over-educated. I was reminded of this the other day when I was on a dating site, and read a profile in which the person said, “I’m going to law school because I want to change the world without going into politics.”
Law, of course, requires only working with other lawyers and judges, i.e., people just like you, while “politics” invariably means dealing with the hoi polloi, and if not exactly liking them, at least herding them into line behind you. Few things are more frustrating for the smart than the stupid, and if getting rejected by Harvard is disappointing, seeing your idea gutted by someone who didn’t waste the $45 to apply to junior college can be intolerable. Not to mention that those uneducated folks occasionally come up with some awfully brilliant ideas.
At the end of the day it can be more comforting to assume that there is a conspiracy or inside club of some sort that is actively working to exclude you than to confront the reality that you we may not be as smart or good-looking as we think we are, and even if we are, that only our mother cares.
For smart people, starting your own business is a “get cured or die trying” approach to the Ego Disease.
Ok… I’m hooked.
Many of the thoughts that you’ve had here resonate with me.
There are different types of people in this world. Ethical, Frugal, Complicated, Folks with common sense, some that simply don’t care. The hardest part is knowing the type of person you are and getting money to work for you and not against you. This is a brilliant post sir… Thank you for stirring up some serious emotions.
[...] It took less then a minute to write it and if you followed the link I posted, it took you over to OnMoneyMaking. The post that shook me up was “Why Many Smart People Hate Money”. Could it be that all [...]
Wow, this essay has created a diversity of responses. I just discovered the site, but I like what I’ve read so far.
@ Allen, finding something you enjoy and can earn a living from is one of the surest ways to financial success. The modern concept of retirement is going to require some adjusting in future years as the growing number of retirees forces western governments to reevaluate the retirement and medical benefits they’ve been promising.
@ Mark, I think including spiritual beliefs has the same effect as discussing politics in a post—it limits your audience.
@ Ryan, I share your love of economics, but I think you’re coming down a little too hard on Jon. I got the impression that he started out as an idealist that resented money, but not realizes that money is a wonderful tool.
Great article Jon. Many of your examples described me, although I think I fall into the ‘smart person who doesn’t hate money’ category. I hope.
I think he’s largely blaming money for scarcity, not just confusing the two. In his “38 Reasons to Hate Money and Everything It Requires” he lists maybe 30 reasons related to scarcity itself, and the rest of the reasons are a product of working in any sort of hierarchical system (being nice to your boss, outperforming coworkers for better positions, etc).
At no point in the 38 reasons or this current article does Jon ever discuss the actual function of money or the purpose it serves in allocating resources, communicating information about what people would like us to do for them, serving as a store of value, or acting as a universally accepted medium of exchange; all tremendously important things. Instead, the redeeming feature of money seems to be “If you get enough of it you can do pretty much whatever you want”.
That analysis skips over all the things that money does for everybody and focuses instead on the very limited things that money does for you, if you have it. Money is taking the blame for scarcity and not getting credit for what it actually does, then the article itself uses a, “Lots of smart people don’t like money. You’re a smart person, and resent not having everything you want. You don’t like money either, do you?” sort of opening that just seems manipulative to me. Money does far more than Jon is acknowledging here, and his claims that it is part of a “broken system” do not seem justified. His further claim that “smart people can see the problem” seems particularly flawed. Approaching the subject in this way seems insulting to smart people who have a different opinion on money or the business system. His approach implies, “If you disagree with me you are not a smart person.”
While it’s perfectly fine that people don’t understand what money does in the economy as a whole, (every economist knows that not everybody needs to know economics; that’s what specialization and trade are for) it’s troublesome when people publicly approach economic subjects without really understanding them. As Murray Rothbard put it: “It is no crime to be ignorant of economics, which is, after all, a specialized discipline and one that most people consider to be a “dismal science.” But it is totally irresponsible to have a loud and vociferous opinion on economic subjects while remaining in this state of ignorance.”
What a wonderful conversation this is. Thanks Jon, for another great post. I didn’t read the previous (38 Reasons) post, but I want to speak to the interesting points by Ryan
@Ryan: I believe Jon has beautifully illustrated his (ongoing?) journey from an old paradigm (like “money is the root of all evil”), to a new one which serves him better (acceptance). In a state of true acceptance of what is, there IS no blame. The blame game would likely follow a path of circular reasoning something like this:
MONEY… no really it’s
GREED… but that’s driven by the
PURSUIT OF POWER… but that’s a reaction to a
FEAR of things being out of control
Fear (as a persistent state) is the unhealthy by product of non-acceptance essentially, is it not?
I’m glad you zeroed in on the term “smart people”. Because, “smart” is a relative and divisive term. It implies that others are not. But it’s likely that it was the best term to reach his intended audience and it also set the stage for this enlightening conversation.
We all have to breakthrough old paradigms to move forward.
While his new paradigm that money is useful for him is certainly better than the sneering attitude he describes at the beginning of the article, it falls sadly short of the realization that money is extremely useful far beyond what it does for any one person individually.
Even his later discussion that money is good to have because it lets you do the things you want to do doesn’t quite get there. If that’s all that money did, then threats or persuasion or lies or politics (which is basically just a mix of the previous three, but I digress) or any of the other things that people do to try to get others to do what they want would serve the same purpose just as well. But, that’s not the case. Money not only lets you get what you want, it tells others what you (and others) want, provides them with prices by which they can prioritize different people’s preferences and find the most efficient way of meeting them, and allows for specialization and trade on a level that would be completely impossible in a barter system.
Imagine what society would be like if the only way you could get anything is if you either made it yourself or could find someone who wants to trade that thing in exchange for whatever it is you happen to produce. Transaction costs would be enormous, and the only jobs that would exist would be those that are in pretty much constant demand by everybody. Living at anything beyond the most primitive agrarian level would be impossible. Money as a universal medium of exchange is what makes trade and specialization possible, so we don’t all have to produce everything ourselves. Money as a store of value is what allows economic planning beyond the next harvest. Money as a measure of relative costs and benefits is what allows the surplus production and capital accumulation that has raised us out of an endless cycle of subsistence farming and starvation.
Money probably ranks among humanity’s greatest enabling achievements, without which we’d be set back literally thousands of years with no possibility for ever advancing beyond that. I’m glad that Jon doesn’t hate money anymore and that he’s realized it’s useful for some things, but from this article it’s pretty clear that he had no idea *how* useful money really is.
@Ryan: while everything you’re saying is true, it’s also a different topic and a different conversation than what we’re having here. Not to put words in Jon’s mouth, but I think we can all see the scope and level at which this post is meant to operate, and it’s a little less pedantic and closer to the ground than what you’re talking about. Expanding the scope out to include all of humanity and civilization is either just hijacking or you don’t even get the point.
It’s not about money — it’s about us. Come down out of the clouds.
Explaining how useful money is on a grand scale serves to reinforce the point that someone having to actually go out and get a job to get it isn’t such a demeaning thing after all.
In any case, saying that money is good because you can get stuff you want with it is like saying that computers are useful because without them we wouldn’t have MySpace. When someone starts to describe a very limited function of a thing as though that were the justification for its existence, it’s relevant to point out that there’s a whole lot more to it than just that.
I find your self-importance nauseating.
Perhaps it would be better if I started telling people what it’s like to be smart, and why many smart people agreed with me before I moved beyond them?
I thought I should leave a few comments, since apparently my referring Ryan to this article has started a bit of a debate. I know Ryan personally, and “self-important” does not describe him at all.
First, let me say that this article really hit home with me. I hate the mold that I am forced into in order to make money. I hate that in order to make a lot of money in the way I want, I need money. It’s a terrible paradox. But I agree with Ryan. It’s not money’s fault. It’s society’s fault. But really, there’s nothing that can be done about it. Scarcity is a reality. Like the article said, we have to accept it in order to work with it.
My big problem with this article, and I think it’s what Ryan objects to as well, is the term “Smart People.” I think the proper term here is “Dreamer” or “Romantic.” I proudly call myself a member of both, but being part of those does not automatically make me smart.
Also, I keep running into this, and it always bugs me. Money is not the root of all evil. “The love of money is the root of all evil.”
Again, good article. It’s a crucial distinction that, while we may hate it as a taskmaster in life, we may also accept it as the means to make positive changes in life.
Money is a band-aid over the scarcity problem. Theoretically, putting sufficient quantities of it into the hands of intelligent people could alleviate the scarcity problem in a more general way. Smart people thus have a duty to leverage their intelligence to a maximum financial advantage, in order to finally address this problem.
Lo! Men have become the tool of their tools.
– Henry David Thoreau
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http://xanga.com/noearmstrongra
I don’t quite understand what y Smart People Hate Money (Plus: Crucial Distinctions) is…
Remember that idiotic saying, “Do what you love and the money will follow”? I think it became a mantra for baby managers and Yuppies in the 1980s. Someone brought it up when I was speaking to a group of students at a high school Career Day program, and I corrected them: “Do what you love because you love it.” (Of course, they looked at me like I was wacko.)
Supposedly, I was brilliant in school. Nobody told me that I had a disgustingly high IQ until many years after I graduated from college, probably so that I wouldn’t become stuck-up or neurotic about it. All I know is that I was reading and writing at age 3, and throughout grade school I finished my lessons before all the other kids, and the teachers would ask me to help tutor the slow kids. (Later they told me I was reading at the 9th grade level in first grade.) By the time I was in the 4th grade I started to resent it because I wasn’t getting paid to teach, it took up time I could have spent reading books (which I liked), and I realized most of the other kids couldn’t stand me because I was the smartest kid in the class.
By the time I was in high school, I announced to my parents and teachers that I was going to focus most of my academic efforts on English, since I planned to be a writer. I would try to get good grades in journalism, history, and music, which I also liked. But I would settle for C’s in math and science, since average skills would suffice in those areas, and I refused to engage in sports, because I knew I wouldn’t need those skills at all. Of course, the adults were livid. They informed me that I “could be a straight-A student” if I “wanted to.” I informed them that I knew this, but I did not “want” to be a “straight-A student,” and was baffled as to why they didn’t comprehend the logic behind my decision.
Weirdly enough, IQ-wise, I was the smartest student in my class. But because of the stubborn choices I made, I did not graduate in the top 10%. I was nominated for National Honor Society but never admitted because the students on the review panel thought I “didn’t smile enough” (or so one teacher told me). I did get a scholarship to college, although it was for winning a piano competition.
Numbers, and money in particular, have always given me the willies. I purposely never learned to balance a checkbook — I just rounded amounts off to the next highest dollar amount, or whatever sounded easy. I let H&R Block do my taxes. I got rid of all my credit cards and eventually my checkbook, and now I just use a debit card. I don’t even carry cash. It’s too much trouble. I have my employer deposit my check in the bank, and I never check the balance — I just have a rough idea of what’s there. For me, money is there to solve life’s problems and make us comfortable. I don’t care about buying the fanciest or most expensive things, just something that’s durable and appealing. I also like to pay other people well when they do something for me. I’m not stingy, and I can’t stand people who hoard money. For a while, I was a freelance writer and graphic designer, but I was horrible at it — not because I had no talent, but because I could never collect money from my clients. I just didn’t care. All I cared about was doing the work. I hated collecting money. I couldn’t even figure out what my work was worth. I’d lose track of how long I spent working on something because I had too much fun doing it, so I couldn’t charge by the hour. I’d end up bartering my work for dinner. I was such a whore!
Money only functions when someone has it and someone else doesn’t, but needs it to survive. If everyone had the same amount of money as their employers, no one would ever work for the accomplishment of a dream that wasn’t theirs. Monetary equality would undermine the whole system. All money embodies is a symbolic application of slavery: Subservience to power in trade for being allowed to survive.
The solution to being smart enough to see the downside of money isn’t to alter your perceptions so that you’re okay having monetary power over the less intelligent for the purpose of creating your own insulated world at the expense of theirs.
The attainment of money by one decreases the survival potential of many others, or, at best, puts that potential against their will into the one’s hands.
It’s abominable.
I hate money as well. IT’s EVIL!
Well, I, for one, also consider myself as a “smart person” (which could in fact mean a lot of things, as I will explain below). And when I stumbled upon this article accidentally (thank you Internet!) from a faraway country called Indonesia, I couldn’t stop to smile & nod my head several times in agreement.
I think in general, I can very much understand what Jon (the writer of this controversial-yet-fantastic-and-stirring article) said, and perhaps also experienced.
And of all the wonderful comments above, I also can really relate with almost all Trudy Ford said.
And here’s my straight-to-the-point commentary (& perspective) for this sort of “sad-but-true” fact/reality:
Any of you who has at least hear, know, and especially follow those Personality & Aptitude tests (my favorite being Myers-Briggs (MBTI) Personality test, you guys should try it, just google it!), there are in fact different kind of “smarts”.
There are people who are smart (& I mean, really, really smart, & also focused/passionate) in mechanics,
There are people who are smart (& I mean, really, really smart, & also focused/passionate) in economics,
or history, or any other intellectual pursuits such as philosophy, metaphysics (I myself am an enthusiast in these latter fields),
There are people who are smart (& I mean, really, really smart, and perhaps I’d say: very talented) in Arts, such as Music, Graphic Design, etc.
And, last but not least,…
There are people who are ‘smart’ -you guessed what- in making money, AND investing, AND managing it.
Of course, there are some recent studies that shows how being “smart” at one thing, and “inclined/passionate” at it, both have a huge correlation,
but my point is this: It is indeed quite ‘sad’ (or ‘unfortunately’), -like Jon & some other commenters here also seemed to agree, directly or indirectly- that since this REAL-world needs MONEY in almost everything, thus, it is those type of “people who are smart in making money, & investing & managing it” (not to mention also very inclined/passionate) whom in the end, seems to get the *MOST* in this REAL-world.
A real-life example: those people who’ve known me quite well, would easily describe me as a “smart young guy”, and some of them seem to ‘get it’ that I am “smart” (& also passionate, or inclined) in particular/specific fields such as: Philosophy, metaphysical, religions, imaginations, Art, and generally in questioning-little-things-in-life, but most especially, in Music.
But alas!
Very similar with what Trudy Ford (& I bet many other kind of “smart” people!) have experienced,
‘unfortunately’, I am still even admittedly sucks, or even at worst, in those “making money, investing, and managing it” things!
and DON’T ASK ME WHY is this!.. As far as I know, it seems like I’m just *not* naturally inclined to it (even after some learning & my several attempts TRYING to *like* to pursue Money!).
And this, unfortunately, is just like what Jon described above very well: it elicits reactions from many, many people who don’t seem to understand me, of why I don’t use my “smart-ness” for the pursuit of money, for my personal GAIN!
And my response/answer?
It’s also just like what many of you seemed to agree here: to me, Money is definitely *NOT* everything in my life, and at my current age of 28 yrs old, and after several attempts at *trying HARD* to love the idea of “living only for accumulating the biggest money/wealth” , I have come to a conclusion now that to me personally, the “costs” is just not worth it!
Sure, you can spend many of your time to study, and get the so-called “big money” and/or “big career”, or status -whatever-, but I would wholeheartedly agree that this Life simply can’t be ‘cramped-down’ into only ONE little path of “making-money-till-we-die”.
There are many different kind of people (thankfully),
There are also many different kind of “smarts”, and “passionates”,
There are, consequentially, many different PATHS one can take in life.
I think, the worst that an individual/person can do in his/her own life, is to reject, or abandon his/her own ‘natural smart’ (or talent, etc), just to ‘fit-in’ into the mold of OTHER’s, and hence, wasting it all, just to become who he/she is not,….especially if all done in-the-name-of-Money.
Thank god that this world (& Life) is not ALL filled with only “money-smart” type of people,
but it’s also filled with many, different variety of “smart” types!
Love this piece of blog-writing,
and I think I will share this to many friends of mine.
Keep writing, and sharing!
-Nik-
Hi to all.
As a kid I’ve grown up with “Star Trek – The next generation” on the TV.
It was about future technology at first glance.
But actually it was about right and wrong, morality.
The story shows a society where private ownership / greed is no longer nesacery.
Of course you can own personal things but it’s not like anyone wants them, because there is no scarcity there.
We still know scarcity, but :
It’s only there because the world is under none or very poor management.
For instance : food
In the western world we throw away more than we actually eat ! While in Africa for instance people die of starvation.
Crops are destroyed when there are to many of them to keep the price high enough, they drive over them with a tractor, I’ve seen it, and farmers that I meet are honnest about it, its just about money.
So I would say :
Money is part of the problem, although the system of capitalism is actually the main problem.
I’m not saying that I know something better.
Actually when you think about it : mankind (or nature) is the problem ;
we are greedy, it’s survival instinct.
I’m a 23 year old Graduate who can relate to many points in this article. I have scraped through my education without obtaining very high grades. This was not because of a lack of intelligence but rather a lack of effort. I was lacking the motivation required to do the work effectively because the education system did not reward brriliance rather punished anyone doing things differently. Now everyone is saying I’m wasting my talent but I am content with my life, I don’t have expensive tastes and money is not an entity which I require in abundance.
The problem that I have is that society is so hell bent on ones status and it dismays me. I have a girlfriend that always goes on about money money money, Friends, Family everywhere you go people are jus so seduced by money and power that it has become more important then hapiness, Knowledge and morality.
Maybe it’s like Jon said it’s human nature but I do not want to join the masses rather I’m trying to be a beacon of common sense for people to consider and evaluate thier priorities. However I’m not confident lol
Excellent Discussion. This is one of the best I have come accross surfing the web. I have been a big hater of this system for a long time. Monetarism is the greatest destroyer of ecology of all time. Money only produces even more scarcity. It was good in the past when things were even more scarce and skills were rare. It created a strong incentive for people to do hard labor. There were few machines in the past so you needed money to create enough insentive to get people to bust thier asses everyday.
The problem with the whole money and scarcity theory is that people forget that with money you have profit, and the peruit of profit is killing all of this planets valuable resources.
The answer to all of these problems is technology and education. Technology is what will create the abundance we have always needed. The technology already exists as well and could have been implimented years ago. Just check out http://www.TheVenusProject.com. They have had the answers to all of these problems years ago. The problem now lyes in education alone. The technology already exists to create abundance but its our dumb ass public that needs to wake up. Everyone of us was ignorant of these subjects at some point of our life but eventually something happened that made us break out of the traditional endoctrinations. Unfortunately not everyone will break out of it so we will need to help as much as we can. This is not easy to do as there are so many physcological atributes to acknowledge but there are some who are doing a very good job. You should all check out http://www.TheZeitgeistMovement.com and join the movement. Educating the masses is the path to freedom, for technology will create abundance and knowledge will set us free.
The bottom line is this, you still need to create a life for yourself within this monetary system. So you definately need to get money or your life will only get worse. There is no escaping this fact at the present time so do not get all depressed about it. Go out and make your money but never give up an opportunity to educate someone about the truth. This is what we can all do to change the world, teach people who are not informed. Even if they do not listen, you have to always try your best. This really is the best contribution you can do to move towards some kind of transition. People will not put up with all of this shit if they truely understood the truth, and the truth is that we can create abundance through technology so money should be on the way out but its not.
I always tell people, “make your money but don’t ever respect it.” You need it because you will die without it is not worthy or respect. It is the root of far too much suffering to ever be worthy of any respect.
It is the root of evil.
How many have followed the false God only to realize that this whole ‘lifestyle’ of wealth myth is really another term for pride. How does a man need enough money for 5 lifetimes want more money? It is a trap, there is no limit to wanting more once you have it. People who are greedy generally don’t recognize their own greed.
Much of what’s said in the article is true, but it overlooks much and some of the other replies have picked up on it.
The real problem is scarcity, as you say. However, how much scarcity is there, and how much of it can be avoided? Does our current monetary system in any way promote the reduction of scarcity? You’ll find that the answer is no.
Money is a tool, yes, it’s a way of marshalling material and human labour, both of which are required for projects that would not be possible for any individual to carry out alone. But how is this tool used? Is it used to reduce scarcity? Absolutely not, it’s used to make more money for the holder of that money. What that person does with the money is usually to splurge it on junk that they don’t appreciate in order to fill the gaping void within, born of a lack of love and wisdom, that drove them to pursue money in the first place.
The resources we have today, both material and human, could easily be applied to shelter, clothe, feed and educate every person on this planet (though it’s close with the population where it is now). Instead they’re controlled by the greediest most miserable people who are constantly trying to fuel the illusion that “having more than everyone else” will finally make them happy. It’s a disease caused by bad parenting, repression and social conditioning.
And possibly the most destructive part of it is that our most precious resource, human intellect, is being continously squandered in this futile game. Capitalism, at least in the virulent form practiced today, is utterly corrosive to basically any mechanism we have to exist as a civilisation and manage this planet responsibly.
Democracy, completely undermined by capitalism. The role of the media is to inform the electorate so they can choose their representatives based on their positions regarding the issues facing them. Instead, the media sells the stories that titillate a dumbed-down public, and play up to the soap opera of party politics. Corporate-owned media are responsible to their shareholders only, dependant on advertising revenue they cannot say anything their sponsors don’t like.
Education, well sure education’s great, but only enough so that the kids will be able to fit into the labour market at some point. Part of this is to follow authority unquestioningly and not to think for yourself. Of course if you don’t think for yourself, you just fit right into the system, you vote in the same politicians who turn up on your doorstep once every four years and forget about you as soon as they’re in (after all, they have bills to pay too, right?). You don’t question the way things are or feel it’s your place to use your mind and your own unique gifts and experience, because hey, you’re just John Doe, the accountant, the bartender, the truck driver.
Democracy and education, as well as freedom of the press are the pillars that any enlightened civilisation depends on and they are continuously being undermined by capitalism. The current thinking is that people need to be enslaved by wage labour to get them to do anything, but this is founded on the faulty assumption that people are at their core bad, lazy, selfish individuals, and that “capitalism works because people are greedy”. When, in fact, people are at their core good (look at a newborn infant, we are all born good, right?), and it is capitalism, and its amplification of scarcity, that makes people greedy.
People are good, and when given the chance have the potential to create, give and contribute, because it is one of the things that makes us most happy.
However people have needs, and when these needs are ignored, abused and exploited by inhuman systems of authority like capitalism and communism, then we see the dark side of humanity.
I see capitalism a bit like this. We are all treading water (working to make money to live). If you stop moving, you sink and drown. You have to keep treading water to stay alive. That’s all well and good but it’s hard to build anything while you’re treading water.
Sure, we have to start at the beginning, at where we are now. So yeah, you have to make money to live. But don’t ever forget what it is, and what it represents. Maybe there’s a better way, we don’t know that yet, but we should at least realize the shortcomings of the current way, and keep our minds open to alternatives.
Jamie, thank you for the beautiful post. My questions to you are: “Can we do something about it? Can we start a small thing that may grow? Or are we helpless about it?”
People go through life oblivious to the fact that death is their ultimate destiny. Death is where it will all end but who really cares or thinks about death when everyone is busy making money. Yes, we may enjoy life better with money but we do not need a lot of money to enjoy life. How many rich people committe suicide and how many celebrities are addicted to drugs and live a miserable life?
Love reading this article and the one before it. Money is the root of all evil but it is human greed that leads to it. I can only dream that someday we will live in a somewhat perfect world, I for one love to sleep in. The way the whole money and it is system is not all that great. There are still flaws and will be flaws until more than half realize this crap. If there was some way to some how award people money without the old saying I work hard to get where I am at and then another person says me too but look where I am at, it sucks, but I don’t know it is hard for me to explain it. Anyway some one said on here that money is a good tool because I believe it somewhat brings order to people in a way that people would kill to get something since the item is here for a limited time. Matter of fact people still do that but not as much. As said before money is a good tool but the system and the way we use it just sucks. By the end of the day it would just come to us as a useless item that we think has value. It will all make since when we are no longer in this world.