Money...

[Ellie]

It suddenly occured to me, how almost every problem of the modern world is because of money. Nearly any problem you can think of.

Prostitution
They only sell themselves because they need money. For drugs, but...

Drug dealing
...the drug dealers are only doing this because they themselves need money.

Global warming
Everyone until now has gone for the cheapest option - fossil fuels. It's simply too expensive to fit solar panels in every house, build hundreds of wind farms, etc.

Corruption in the police
Most of the time it's to get money...

Companies going "bust"
It's because lack of money.

Why my game sucks seems to be getting nowhere
I don't have money to pay people for graphics, music, etc.

Why my PC is slow at some things
Don't have the huge amount of money to buy a better one.

Why the pen I just used didn't work
Only had the money on me to get a cheap pen.

And so on...

So really, the Romans (or whoever invented currency) really screwed us badly...

 

[Prexus]

Currency has existed in some form in most civilization in recorded history. Barter and Trade my good friend. You fix my wagon? Here's a pig. Livestock = Currency.

There is no way around it. It is the only thing that limits the amount that humanity consumes. With no form of currency, the world would be in anarchy and humanity would literally consume the earth.

 

[uzumakishade]

technically, it was adam and eve who screwed us over, if you believe in that anyways, but like Prexus sais theres always been some form of currency either coins and papers, or furs and livestock there was always something to trade to get something you wanted

 

[Roman Candle]

What you're complaining about isn't money, it's the fundemental system of personal possesions. And that's not going anywhere :p

 

[sixtyandaquarter]

I'd rather have money or a system of barter and trade, as opposed to people not some how compensating for goods and/or services. Otherwise I'd have no material goods for which to own - someone bigger, stronger, and with more friends than I have would have come along, long ago, and taken it all.

I wouldn't be able to call the cops, who aren't there because they aren't paid.

I wouldn't be able to call an attorney about my legal options, because just because someone works probono doesn't mean they don't have income.

I wouldn't be able to have a security system, be it a big alarm and locking doors or big burley security guards, no one was there to raise the money to pay for the inventing of said device, or training/salaries of said body guards.

Currency in some form, money or barter, took us to the level we are today. Mildly safe in our own habitats able to pay for goods/services, at certain times - and capable of giving goods/services and receive compensation for said goods/services.

 

[rataime]

And if you think rendering money useless would solve the problems you mentioned...
People will prostitute themselves/sell drugs for food. Still nobody would help you make your game. Hell, Enterbrain wouldn't have made rmxp in the first place.

To paraphrase Churchill "Capitalism is the worst form of society, except for all the others that have been tried from time to time."

 

[BlueScope]

There's another fitting quote I have, though I don't know who said it: "The Chinese were the first people on Earth using money instead of trading goods, but does that mean they were the richest people?" (badly translated by me :p ). Well, says everything ^_^

 

[King Moogle]

I don't know if you guys have ever read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, but it's a fabulous >1000 page book with like size 6 font about what would happen if we lost personal property and money was no longer valued. A very interesting read, written over 50 years ago (IIRC) and still very relevant. It asks the question, "Who is John Galt?", which some of you may remember it by.

This is directly relevant as background material to this discussion, so I though I'd bring it up.

 

[Mudpuddle]

It's the want of money that's the problem, not money. It doesn't cause problems! It's just coins and cotton paper.

 

[Fafnir]

I'd say that Pink Floyd sums it up pretty nicely.

It's only bad when you don't have it.

 

[Arcanum]

Eh... money is just the result of something else bad, and pointing to it as the root of human problems isn't going to get anyone anywhere. I suggest you read this:
The Worst Mistake In The History Of The Human Race.
If you want to point fingers, as much as you may not like it, that article gives something genuinely problematic to point a finger at that also happens to be the origin of money.

 

[Level10]

To paraphrase Churchill "Capitalism is the worst form of society, except for all the others that have been tried from time to time."

I think you're mixing up two quotes here.

Many forms of Government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time.

The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of blessings; the inherent virtue of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.

 

[rataime]

That's the whole point of the "paraphrase" warning : I didn't intend to quote Churchill, only to use his way of saying things. But I might have used the wrong word (I'm not a native English speaker).

 

[Flaepru]

It is true, money causes a lot of problems...
Buit just think: if money would never be created, then the human been would not work, because they'd earn nothing.

 

[Erichermit]

The problem of money isn't the money itself, but greed for it.

 

[StuntmanBank314]

I'd say that Pink Floyd sums it up pretty nicely.

It's only bad when you don't have it.

Its like fifty cent says and he sums it up great....

If ya dont got any money, sell drugs and rob people!!!!!!11111oneoneoeneoeneonepenis

 

[Grandor]

I had this discussion a long time ago in the IRC. If by eliminating money, who would do stuff? If nobody is getting paid we have to do stuff all on are own, which can make things harder. It's greed that's the problem. The wanting for a material possesion, that possesion being money which allows you to get other material possessions. None of this stuff we have now is going to be kept. When we die, we don't take any of this stuff with us. To much wanting or greed is not good.

 

[Ravenith]

People. I'm studying Economic Sciences and believe me, I know something on this. "Money" means "Currency". Currency is only a commonly acceptable means of trading values, as well as a way to compare values different by their nature (how else could you compare the value of a cow opposed to the value of a garment?)
So, "money" is just the means. Money is a tool. Overall, money has greatly elevated humanity to new levels.

What Wyatt means is "possession", "riches" (not in only in money), "goods".
Even if there's no money, which means no currency, nothing changes.

It's the value - based capitalistic system that's causing the problem. This system is the best that has been "invented" so far. This doesn't mean it's good. Many other systems have been tried, but they sadly failed because their creators, all great minds, did not consider the imperfections of human, and thus the imperfections of human societies.

 

[Megadeth425]

Money isn't the problem, capitalism is. Capitalism caused poverty, the destruction to the environment, and a myriad of other problems the world's facing.

 

[Torik]

Capitalism didn't cause poverty my friend.... Thats just bull****. People caused poverty, and the thing is in a world of capitalism you have no excuse if you're poor. You got that way by making a mistake somewhere along the line, and if you didn't and it's really not your fault then you are one in a 99999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999999...etc. Other governments choose to help poverty (communism) but lose freedom! I'd rather be able to earn my fucking money and be the best i can be without being forced to do something for a daily ration. Megadeth... don't talk until you know what your saying is my recommendation to you.