by Joshua Jones

Created on: October 29, 2009   Last Updated: May 23, 2010

In today's life, money is an ever-present concern. "How much will this or that thing cost?" "How much will my paycheck be?" or, "How much will I be taxed?" are all common questions that enter into the minds of people every day. Despite the ubiquitous nature of money,  we rarely consider what money is. Living in modern society is implausible without a coherent view on the nature of money. A proper view of money can allow us to make better use of it.

Many people have a view of money that shows it as greed inducing and dirty. This perception is nurtured by a culture that was inspired by rhetoric demonizing the rich. This rhetoric is typically the result of misguided Christian theologians remembering the oppression of the rich royalty of feudalism or of socialist-influenced commentators and politicians. These perceptions are reinforced by misquoting of Biblical passages involving the rich leaders of Israel; these quotes are entirely out of context and have no relation to the nature of money itself; the passages are reflections on the nature of man and his tendency to misuse money. But these perceptions of wealth cannot coexist with a society that deals so much with money. Either the society is corrupt and should be destroyed or the perceptions of money ought to be changed.

Money, properly thought of, is a measure of life. Life consists of production and consumption. Money is the means by which we produce and consume. When a man works, the act of production, he works most effectively when he specializes in one field. This one field cannot provide for all that he will naturally consume. Therefore, society has devised a division of labor, the specialization of labor, and trade of services. The division of labor creates a need for a method of trade; this originally was solved by barter. Barter however is inadequate for a modern society, because it is slow and ineffective. Money was the solution to these problems.

Without money society would have no means to survive. People would either barter and have little if any time for life outside work and bartering. Without money we have a society that is crippled by a slow process of exchange. Money, by being divisible, portable, and expandable allows society to function. The divisibility of money is that it can be turned from $1 to two $.50 portions. Portability of money enables people to trade more effectively. The expandability of money is the nature of money to be saved and lent, which increases the amount of theoretical money in the system.

Money, as the solution to these problems, is the direct equivalent of one's labor. This connection with labor also equates money with life. Money is the measure of one's life because it is the manifestation of one's labor and the means by which you supply the tools of life. As Shylock says in 'The Merchant of Venice', "You take my life when you take the means whereby I live." Life and money are inextricably intertwined.

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