Three Reasons Why Money Was The Worst Invention Ever
Who invented money? Ask any number of people and they couldn’t tell you who actually invented money or where the idea came from. History has given us some bad ideas, but money has got to be the worst and here are my top three reasons why.
- Something invented by man should not have power over him.
If I think really hard and try to imagine a time without money, before it was invented and used daily, I tend to imagine the world was a whole different place. People most likely had a barter type society where goods and services were exchanged and that is how one survived. If I had a special skill, say hunting, and you were hungry, you could come get me some food. The idea would be that if you could make a fire, and I could provide the food, then we could trade our skills or abilities and each would have what was good for them. I guess for the sake of discussion that if someone had absolutely no skills, that person was still allowed to eat. I can’t imagine that I would lend meat to the helpless soul, only if it could be repaid somehow. Before the helpless soul can blink, he might owe me five dinners and then I have to send the debt collectors to collect his debts. Money provides control, both positive and negative. Although it is man-made, and essentially just a piece of paper or a mixture of cheap metals, money has power, and it is power. I can just imagine Mr. Helpless Soul explaining to his wife that he can’t pay the hunter back and doesn’t know what to do. So Mr. Hunter decides to enslave the Helpless Soul family until the debt is paid off. It is incomprehensible to me that so many people in my country and around the world go hungry every day. Those who have the money have the power to deny the needs of those who have no means. Where have the humanitarians gone? I saw a business owner evicting someone who was homeless and starving, then half an hour later dealing with a customer who complained as he yelled that his food wasn’t hot enough . Money only has the power we give it. If we choose to see it as just a means to an end, or just a dumb paper that we’ve been told to obey all our lives, then we can focus on what really matters. I’m not advocating not paying debts or dumping responsibilities. This is the world we live in, and the standards must be upheld…until the laws change again to fit what politicians want on any particular whim of a day. .
- Money shifts the emphasis from self-help to the arbitrary “value” of mere things.
Why should I do anything to help someone else, unless they can pay for it? If my whole purpose in life is to get material things, then I should only be motivated by money, or to get it, to do anything. What is something really worth? Marketing companies have defined value for me since I was a kid, and it was thrust upon me during GI Joe commercial breaks. What is the value of all the things you want compared to something that really matters? Imagine what it’s worth to spend an extra hour with a loved one before they pass away and disappear forever. The value of teaching your children that there is more to life than money and getting things. The value of feeding a homeless person and helping him get at least one night’s sleep where his stomach doesn’t keep him from sleeping. The value of reaching out and helping someone else in this world is worth more than the biggest diamond, the heaviest gold and the purest oil. Now I’m the biggest hypocrite on this subject, because I love things! It’s been programmed into me for so long that it’s hard to shake the desire to get things. Imagine a life in which people help each other because it’s the right thing to do, and not just for what they might get in return. The argument is, well, things can’t just be free. You have to pay something to get something. How would the world work if everyone gave everything for free and everyone had everything they needed and no longer had to be a slave to credit card companies or a job they didn’t love not ? How would we survive? My answer to these questions is, famous! I would be free to learn a trade that benefits others, and I could use that ability to support my family and help others. I wanted to help by making a donation or by giving my whole life, but I never had the means. I gave a little time here and there, and not as much as I should have or liked, but at least it was something. But because I like things, and those things cost me money, I have to continue my work and repeat the same cycle as my father.
- Money makes you wonder if people really care about you, or just your money.
I try to envision the end of my life surrounded by those who have walked my path with me, who love me and take care of me because of the enrichment that I have brought them through my friendship and my devotion. In my later years enjoying my days with my wife and talking to my adult children and grandchildren. I want to soak up every minute of my life between here and there. I want to feel, love and enjoy all there is to offer. I have seen families shattered, fighting over the money left behind after the death of a loved one. Some of these grudges are held for the rest of their lives. They lose a relationship and also a loved one, and the only thing they can think about is how much money they are going to receive. More than likely, Mr. Entitlement, as we’ll call him, won’t even miss the loved one who was lost. How many brilliant individuals never have the chance to succeed for lack of means, and how many elites receive free passes because their stack of paper is bigger than yours. Do the people closest to you care about you or your money? Does the girlfriend only love you for what you can buy her? Do your children only listen to you to get what they want? Do you take the money away, and would they abandon you? Such a good idea, this money.
My answer to all of this is that I don’t have an answer. My two year old daughter has asked me about money and loves putting money in her piggy bank. It made me start considering all the reasons I worry about money, fight about money, and read books about money. Nothing like the honesty of a child, to make you sit up and think.
