Does money matter?
Yes, it does. No, it doesn´t. The "off-the-treadmill and out-of-the-rat-race movement" is not a new idea; I think it
was conceived in the late 90´s, partially as a counterbalance to the shameless
greed and debauchery of the 80´s.
I would bet that a large number of working adults have
had a "leave it all and live on a farm somewhere" moment. Some may have done
it, not many would have succeeded. Whilst the idea is tempting, it inevitably
clashes with the fact that our basic needs are still strongly linked to money.
You cannot barter for complex medical care, university education or 100% of your needs in energy and
fuel. Being self-sufficient, at the moment, is an individual, sometimes self-indulgent
attempt to sort out our own conscience and ideals, but it is not effective.
Why self-indulgent? Looking at myself, where I should
begin, I see how smug I get carrying a cloth tote bag to the supermarket,
recycling dutifully, reducing my expenditures, eating less meat, saying and striving to do" the right things", Have I solved anything for anyone but
my own self-image or influenced the life of others in any way? A big, fat
"no".
One option would be to chuck it all and become a
voluntary school teacher wherever it is needed most, living on roots and spring
water. Again, whilst I would contribute to a very important need, I could only
do so because I am not bound by geography, family responsibilities or, at the
moment, health issues. However, most average working people are bound by such
factors. For them, money has to matter, though many wish it didn´t.
As I gave this blog a title "Wrong answers
to Wrong Questions", why do I think "Does money matter" is a
wrong question to begin with?
As David Boyle has said with beautiful clarity and ingenuity,
money doesn´t exist.
Less and less cash circulates around the world; most of
our daily transactions involve cyber space balance of virtual pluses and
minuses, the red and black font on your computer screen. There are no gold bars in
the vault of your local bank, and there isn´t the exact amount which people
have invested in the particular branch office sitting somewhere in a large
safe. The office keeps enough cash to give change to customers paying into
their accounts, and to fill the cash dispensing machine. The rest is a
series of agreements, treaties and promises you have involved yourself with by
participating in the inevitable system of trading your time, and life, for a questionable goal of "having money" or "being rich" and an unquestionable goal of survival as we understand it at the moment.
It is interesting how the English language has a
standard phrase: "being well-off" for people who are not poor but
do not chase the money god with blood on their fangs and can cover their basic
needs and modest luxuries. Well-off sounds almost like a state of health, or
could be an expression suggesting well being and happiness.
How can one strike the balance of being trully well-off: happy and productive, but not necessarily having any money to speak about. How
could a whole society be "well-off"?
A lot of smart people are
trying to answer this question. And, this would be a much better question to
ask, is your well-being, contentment and contribution to your community and
society important? Would you be happy to cut out the all-powerful financial middle-man between your time and skills and your needs? Of course, yes.
There isn´t a simple solution to a huge issue like money, I believe there are series of changes necessary over a long period of time, from teaching children a different approach to money to re-evaluating the way we define wealth. And, by all means, let´s start with ourselves, the tote bag is a good thing after all, but changing our attitude towards money, less visible and more difficult, may just have the needed ripple effect to start changing the world for everyone, not just the "responsible midddle class consumer".
