It's All About The Money

As described in the WebStamp article Building A Better Economy,  the acquisition of wealth began around 600 BC when money became a commodity. Before that tokens and coins were used as a medium to exchange goods representing the transaction. It was easier than bartering your goods by not having to haul your merchandise with you. You would later exchange your coins to collect the merchandise at where it was stored.  It was at this time when the problems with the acquiring of monetary wealth began when those few that had created the monetary system found ways to profit and expand their wealth and power with it.

According to the Collins Dictionary, the definition of the popular phrase 'money is the root of all evil' means that greed is the cause of a particular problem or the cause of society's problems in general. The Bible says, "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows". It is not the money, but the love of money that many will cheat, lie and manipulate to acquire it. Consider the number of robberies, scams, fraudulent transactions, insider trading, etc. that happen every day in today’s society perpetuated by greed to acquire monetary wealth.

Crime is not the only adverse effect on society precipitated from the acquisition of wealth. There are many that struggle to survive earning a living to keep the family fed, sheltered, provide proper healthcare, and other necessities for living. There are also many unable to earn a living due to having disabilities or injuries which prevents them from living healthy worry-free lives.

Many strive to provide a better existence overworking to gain greater monetary wealth than needed believing that it will provide a better life.  The struggle to earn enough to survive causes stress and affects one’s well-being overburdening society's health care systems. There are many involved today in acquiring wealth and in doing so they also stress themselves even to point of burn-out.

This encourages a few to let their greed to take full advantage to gain exuberant profit and power over those struggling to maintain an existence. They use their wealth to have others find ways to over-produce and convince the general public to purchase their over-priced products to increase their net worth. They also buy out the competition and centralize their operations to maintain their control.

In the name of profit, we are forced to pay more than is necessary and having our earnings dwindle faster so we are forced to labour harder. Today we are overwhelmed with advertising attempting to convince us to become a more materialistic society dependant on society’s wants instead of their needs. Commercials have replaced cartoons at the movies, TV and radio are bombarded with commercials, and professional sports are heavily sponsored with expensive memorabilia and advertising. 

Developing a fairer distribution of wealth and localizing the economy would enable society to regain control of the economy and removing it from the corporate equation. Today everything is about equality as seen with eliminating racism and abuse, why not restructure the economy in these times of turmoil to one that is built on equality. Mankind has the ability to create a Post-Scarcity Economy where all people can easily have their basic survival needs to be met along with some significant proportion of their desires for goods and services.

To accomplish this lofty goal, we need to eliminate the desire for the acquisition of wealth and work towards bettering ourselves and the rest of humanity.  Make your M.A.D. Move and make a difference in the way the world operates. If we are all on the same page, the change will happen. Let us start by developing a Sustainable Local Circular Economy with Rebuilding The Economic Model.