Money: A philosophical perspective

Money: A philosophical perspective

We didn’t need it for the “Theory of Relativity” or the “Upanishads”

What is money? Briefly, its a symbol of wealth. In modern times, money allows one to possess material things in its exchange - be it a home, an airline ticket or toilet paper. The more money one has, the more of such things one can acquire. Conversely, with its dwindling presence in one’s life, even the most basic needs of existence like food, clothing and shelter, come to threat. Thus it has become futile to question its existence today. The adult lives of most people are spent, consciously or unconsciously, in its active pursuit. Money has seemingly become the quintessence of progress, the great enabler of everything else. But does money really enable or is it a limitation? To answer that question, let us first take a peek at history.

The earth’s riches are abundant. We, the dominant species, use it to make our lives better and easier. From a nomadic existence as hunter-gatherers, we began to settle down as cultivators. Our desire to survive against hostile climate, animals and tribes, gave rise to a need to be secure. I believe we have been using money, in one form or another, ever since. As trade and industrialization gained impetus, newer forms of currency evolved, portable and more universal. What today is a paper note or a piece of plastic was then a few stones or a buffalo. Today, we have weaved a whole world of control, status and greed around money.

But did it really need to be this way? Think about it. Money is exchange, an exchange of possessions. Give me yours and I’ll give you mine. Remember how we bartered as children: give me two red marbles and I’ll give you a postage stamp (and if you don’t I’ll break your steam engine!). Its not too different among shrewd businessmen, because money is basically a childish concept - its about “give and take”, its about “your” and “mine”. But what is your and what is mine? Everything comes from one source and we are fools to believe that we possess anything. So the next evolutionary step is to go beyond this limiting belief and strip money out of the disproportionate amount of importance we have padded around it. It is not really an enabler, but a golden chain that limits us from doing a far greater thing - knowing who we really are.

Sometimes I wish I were a whale or a bird - they don’t drive a BMW to work, but they are free!