Money

Money
What is money? Is it even real? Surely its important? Its what we earn isnt it? It makes us free? Makes our lives better? Gives us more choice?
Ok well lets start at the beginning. Before money there was barter. Barter was swapping goods, work, skills and even knowledge for whatever you needed at the time. All societies began with barter.
Once people began using this form of economics the local chieftains would realise that they could demand more from people than others. They could by use of force, threat, fear, status or even through respect expect their clan, tribe or village demand off others, their subjugated or as we even see ourselves today subjects.
At some point in pre history some bright spark took a liking to precious metals, gold, silver even forms of copper. Around the same time jewels such as diamonds, ruby….well you get the idea.
So barter evolved into trade, goods for gold if you were lucky. Diamonds for deeds. Silver for service.
Now carrying around gold for instance was a job in itself, you rarely would trust it to others so soon the wealthiest either looked like Arnie (not a great look if you were wanting to marry a prince) or were constantly shattered and bent over so much all the could see was their feet. It was around this point some bright spark invented shoe polish, to enable the rich to see a reflection of the sky.
So a blokey (or more likely his missus coz them of the fairer sex hated shopping day at this point. Going out with bags weighing a ton to come back with sack cloth n tatties) decided if they put the rulers head on a smaller bit of gold with a number, and maybe silver with a smaller number and copper with the smallest number they could carry a small purse instead of a huge satchel. Thus the handbag was invented and with it came the birth of currency.
Now this worked for a while but when tribes, clans and villages became countries the boss guys and gals found if they wanted to buy stuff from abroad and couldn’t be bothered invading places like China they needed huge ships to carry the coins and still needed to send jewels and gold stuff too as the Chinese didn’t always like looking at the heads of other rulers unless they were on spikes (a fashion world wide in them days).
These huge ships often ended up being chased by pirates (water born robbers but with stunning dress sense, dandy flare, and able to hold full conversations by just one word….Arrr). It was then that again Mrs Boss came up with the idea of paper money. It was easier to make, lots smaller and far lighter. The ships then could be smaller and faster. And best of all if you made a promise (especially if you were English coz us lot always keep our word don’t we guv?) to pay the bearer (the dude or dudette holding the note) then you could just pretend you had lots of gold and stuff. The big boss realised this first so it was his or her heads on painted on the notes.
Nowadays yer don’t even need to pretend to have the gold. You just have to have a bank say you have. You don’t need to carry your money just a card or even you phone.
So that’s money. A promise. And when countries run short of money they say they have more. This works until they are found out then the other countries wont take their promises coz they been found out to be fibbers.
Now in each society there are lots of peeps with little or no money, but then there’s one in a hundred with stacks.
So is money real? Nope not really. Its a promise which may be true but likely is a lie.
Is money important? Only whilst we believe in the promise. If suddenly we don’t then we end up generally going back to barter until some charismatic or scary person manages to con us into pretending to believe again.
Is it what we ‘earn’? In some ways yes, but only because its all that is usually on offer. I actually would work far harder if someone gave me a big busty blonde but then that’s slavery and not only illegal and immoral but a subject all of its own for another night.
So does money make us free? No it truly does not. Money we are told is good, but what we are not told is money is actually more of a shackle than can ever be made out of iron chains. Once we agree a rate for our labour, skill, art or knowledge we have to continue to work for that amount. If we do or are seen to do wrong we are often fined. All the money we earn is taxed several times before and after we receive it. For instance you earn £10. That’s a promise of ten pounds of silver as we work on sterling rather than gold as a rule in Britain or ten promises of equivalent value. (you won’t get ten pounds of silver for a ten pound note though). £2 of that ten is taken in income tax. Then you pay say another £2 in national insurance (another tax as the policy keeps losing value). So you have £6. You buy two pints of beer. The beer has VAT value added tax of say 20%. So your beers cost £3 each. 60 pence of each £3 is VAT. Then you pay tax on the beer itself. Another 90 pence. So far half the cost of your beer is tax. Then the landlord of the pub pays his income tax, the dreymen pay their income tax, the brewers pay income and corporation tax unless they are American owned or the proprietor is a super rich blonde bearded goblin that cannot ride a bike, in which case they pay nothing. If we were bartering that beer would have cost us a few minutes of time but likely now its cost far more. We get less in money than we probably would without.
Yes we do have more choice with money in so much as we can split the result of our toil, paying a bit here and a bit there. Bit it also gives the rulers or the ‘Establishment’ more ways of getting our skills from us for less.
Why do people work for it? Because our society is controlled by the ‘Establisment’ those that have lots of money and power. We buy into it because they tell us to. Having more money means your choices open up new horizons. You can bribe, threaten, reward and even pay for people to be killed.
Money these days to many is allowing them to exist, not giving them choices. When you are on low pay or no pay then your options are limited. This keeps you in your place. It removes your power.
I prefer the dream a society where we care more for people than for money. Where we all have a decent standard of living with no need to worry about whether we can feed ourselves or our children, whether we still will have a home tomorrow.
A society where people are not applauded for greed. Where we respect deeds more than numbers.
Can it happen? You tell me, I am no more wise or intelligent than you, I do not hold all the answers. All I do is think, try to see the world as it really is. If I find an answer I will share it, but if you think hard enough you may just find it before me.
By the way if your confused good, think I have confused myself. But it is 2am and bloody hot!!!
All I ask is start to think. Think about anything. About money, society, the future, the past. Ask yourself questions and look for the answers. They do not need to be right. Just searched for. If you do this a whole new world of realisation opens up and is far more entertaining and yes frustrating than any soap. So give it a go. Then if you fancy share it with me and if you so wish the world.
Jonesy.