What is Money?

As currency, it is just a medium of exchange. But in the sense of its sociological impact, it ascribes values to commodities or services based on their demand and supply. To ordinary folks like me, it is a means to buy food, clothes, education, and other things. To the affluent, it is like a badge of honor that increases their societal value just by possessing it. A wealthy person may lack many other things, traits, or abilities. Still, their wealth alone makes them more honorable than others. 

 

To people experiencing poverty, money is a means of sustenance or survival. It means food, clothes, shelter, and primary education. I sometimes feel that the poor are prone to be miserly and greedy. Strangely, however, they are more generous and kind than the rich. Perhaps they do not see it as something that increases or decreases their value. But as something that can lessen their pains and the sufferings of their fellow beings. Unlike the affluent, who use it to obtain and sustain power, the genuinely honorable use it to share love and happiness. 

 

How can the rich share their wealth with the poor effectively? Is increasing taxes the only way? Is government the only route? What about corrupt officials, ministers, and leaders? The question is very complex. One way is providing employment opportunities to people even when the work can be done more efficiently by machines or robots. While efficiency benefits only the investor, giving jobs helps people experiencing poverty and strengthens the fabric of society. Another way is to personally reach out to villages, townships, and rural areas or through trustworthy agents. 

 

Pharma companies must share a percentage of their profits with people-groups that first used the drug in its crude form (like plant extracts or animal secretions). We use carbon dating to rewrite and question history. Similarly, can we not correct the errors of our predecessors by offering aid to the oppressed? I think plagiarism and patent rules need revision. The best way is for people to do these things voluntarily. How do I wish the world was less greedy, more aspirational, and more generous in sharing things?  

 

Let me share a story on greed. A king invited a hundred people to his son's wedding, and all the hundred came. He was delighted to see all his invitees. The feast began, and the people queued up. One weird guy in the middle ate a lot of food. People started noticing him, and some praised him for his exceptional capacity to eat so much so quickly. The king's servants were tired of serving him but still kept going because they feared the king. The man continued, and soon, people gathered around him to see how much he could eat. 

 

Now, some attendants even started estimating how much he would eventually eat. A popular estimate was he might eat around half of everything cooked. He would eat as much as the 99 others could eat, provided they ate everything served. The king was so delighted by this man's presence at his son's wedding that he announced a reward for him. He was even willing to serve him.

 

The man who ate much was also proud of his incredible ability and boasted about his outstanding achievement. He even offered to train others to eat much without feeling full. ;) Many people enrolled, and his story was widely read. However, no one noticed that the more one person eats, the less is left for others to eat. 

 

The short story explains modern economics, a failed system, in layperson's terms. Still, we boast about how much we have accomplished and how bright our future holds.