Wednesday, August 29, 2007

money is the root of all evil

Almost everyone wants more of it, yet many of those who have it are not happy.
Money may make the world go 'round, but it is essentially the root of global political problems. Why do people fight? They want more money - they want more for their country and for themselves. Money controls governments and allows them to push one another around - it funds armies, which in our case go to Iraq to 'stabilize' the area. And what for? Many would say we went for oil - an expensive fuel; controlling its production would lessen the cost for Americans and thus give the US more to spend on other products.
Worldwide, countries are judged not only by their standards of living but by their GDP. Those countries with low GDP wish to raise it, yet countries abundant in jobs and money want to stay at the top rather than risking falling on the charts. By buying products for more from countries in areas like sub-Saharan Africa, their standard of living could improve. Yet we Americans continue our outrageous spending on our inflated salaries that everyone wishes were higher. Perhaps if we were less obsessed with perfecting our lives and thought more of improving the lives of others – and by we I refer not only to the US , but to al people and all nations considered 'affluent' – anyone who owns a computer (or two, or three), who can afford a cell phone with text messaging, who is attending college (especially without the help of a scholarship) – can certainly give more to those in need.
In America alone, millions are spent by politicians in order to spread their views so that they may win the election. Why spend so much? A position in the House or Senate gives them a say in how money is allocated. Becoming President means approving the country's budget each year – a huge power. The downside to such power occurs when large deficit builds up over the year, when the country has promised billions of dollars that it does now have to spend abroad. It is incredibly problematic that we can be indebted so much money while others struggle to survive because they cannot work off what they have and cannot like us, have such large loans.

Poverty is (according to dictionary.com) "the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support." No money. Many people live in poverty, as Lauren discusses in her blog and it is definitely a serious issue. Money, as an issue, goes hand in hand with poverty; since one is a serious issue, the other is too. Despite the problems that money causes as it controls and/or relates to every aspect of our lives, there is no way to abolish it. Though an issue, it is a necessary one that we must continue to live with. Perhaps humanity could tone down their obsession, but that may be asking for too much...

3 comments:

Wick said...

Is money the issue really or might it be power? You mention power at the end. Politicians use money to buy power. States buy weapons that are tools of power. Even material wealth could be power. You might want to think about what money ultimately means. Is money power? Or is money an object and force in its own right? Money is certainly an interesting phenomenon. It exists because the state who prints it says it has value. Nothing more. No gold, no silver, just the "full faith and backing" of government X. What is money?

MeaghenneRamsey said...

Money is the expression of the level of power a person or government has attained. Money can be generalized into property in general. Nations categorize their level of power by the size and quality of the land and resources they possess. The natural self-interest of humanity is more magnified today through war property (size, power and placement of military bases, as well as the quantity and "boom" power of weapons of war) and economic capital as it effects a person/nation's position of power in the global market.

I think money is the easy simplification of "any capital, both tangible and intangible", and I think that was the basic point Autumn was making.

But I have been known to be wrong.

Autumn said...

I think that money is the closest thing that we have to a tangible measure of power. It seems that the more money one has (whether an individual or a nation), the more power they have. Perhaps the two have become interchangeable? Yet when inflation rises significantly, money means next nothing, but power allocation remains as strong as ever...