What is the True Meaning of Money?
Humans' invention of a consistent store of value
Good monring people that spend money,
I know that because money isn’t everything, but everything needs money. Your car, the food you eat, the clothes your wear, and the house you live in have all been bought with money.
This article will talk about what money is to us and how exactly it got that way.
What is Money?
Money is a medium of exchange used to represent the value of goods and services.
It is a system that has been used for hundreds of centuries and has evolved to mean and represent many things over time.
Money nowadays can be anything- coins, paper money, gold bars, credit cards, bank accounts- the list really does go on.
But they all have one thing in common: they are used as a way to show the value of goods and services between parties.
The first type of money was the barter system, which was used to exchange goods and services directly between parties. It worked well when people could find someone who had what they wanted. But in larger societies, you can see how this could be a problem.
Where did Money come From?
The earliest forms of these things, which we now call paper money, were called banknotes which goldsmiths issued in the 1600s in Europe and Asia. In the 1800s, more people started using banknotes because they were easier to carry around than gold coins or bars, so they became popular among merchants. Today’s paper money is made from cotton, linen, or cellulose. This became possible in that time period because scientists developed a machine to make paper from wood pulp.
The current currency we use today is called fiat currency. This type of currency is not backed by any physical commodity. But instead, it is backed by the government’s promise to accept it as legal tender and convert it into coins or paper money on demand. The supply of fiat money, unlike gold or silver, is unlimited and determined by the public’s need for cash balances so that they can make purchases and pay off debts.
The Meaning of Money
As you can see, humans have gone from trading actual goods and services to buying them with gold to now just buying things based on a promise made by the government.
If there is one thing I want you to take away from this article is this:
Money isn’t real.
I know this because if all the fiat and paper money burned to the ground tomorrow. Do you know the only species on the plenty that would be upset? Its humans.
Money in our society has become more than an arbitrary store of value. Instead, it has evolved into a social institution—a symbol of power. People define themselves now by how much money they have or don’t have. It makes people feel worthless for no reason, and others feel powerful when the only real power they have is a couple more numbers to their name.
Everybody wants to be “percieved” with more money than they actually have by buying fake jewelry, designer clothes, and maybe a nice watch.
But in this way, money doesn't represent how rich someone actually is. What it does do, however, is allow people to judge and compare themselves to others. Which reinforces a negative behavior cycle of them wanting to be perceived as rich and wealthy, and the cycle continues.
Don’t let money consume your life when the government can simply add and delete money with a couple of zeros on a digital ledger. The meaning of money is absolutely nothing; it only has meaning when our minds give it meaning.
Some are happy without money, and some feel like they need it so badly they would kill for it.
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Have a great day, and remember to live in the moment.
