Why does money have to exist?

perhaps it keeps us from killing each other so often.

Because it is useful – but it has been misused.

Symbolic trade arose spontaneously in most cultures world wide. It simply means you do not have to take actual delivery of a commodity in order to complete a trade for goods and services. It is too convenient not to have been invented.

If we didn’t have money, we would be trading things we thought were of the same value. We would eventually have some kind of currency. I don’t think it’s possible not to have something that is used like currency.

No matter how you attempt to change the word GREED, it always comes out the same way and changing money for trade would still be the same.

i see the convience of dollars and cents…i just feel its an excuse…mostly for people in power.

Money is crystallized human labor, essentially.

If I have a bushel of corn to trade and you have a pair of boots, that’s great if we each need what the other has. But what if you need corn, and I’m all set with boots? You give me some money (crystallized labor, representing the time I spent growing the corn) and I can use that to trade for something else I need that you don’t have.

It greatly expands the possibilities of trade, and it’s more convenient to carry in your wallet than a bushel of corn.

lol…it IS all about convenience in the world today. hmmmm…but there has to be a better way.

the thing is with the boots and corn thing…thats old school talk..these days…we all have much more to offer…many more skills…factories…tools…computers…etc…to do much more for eachother.

The love of money for its own sake used as a substitute for genuine caring about people has always lead people to do wrong.

Money as an economic tool for buying and selling real things is not in itself harmful or “evil.”

What you can do about the concerns you expressed is to get involved in helping others by combining your talents and energy with others committed to solving the same problem.

Eliminating money will not solve the problems about which you are concerned.

@pdworkin has it right. Back in the very old days, you had to haul everything to a market town and then your buyer would have to haul it away. Sometimes that could be a matter of great distances and much risk, depending on the goods and who was buying. It made much more sense to let the goods—say, a load of textiles from Bruges—stay where they were and send an agent with samples to negotiate a cash sale than to haul them around the countryside looking for a buyer. Then they could be delivered directly to the new owner.

“i see the convience of dollars and cents…i just feel its an excuse…mostly for people in power.”

Any form of wealth is an excuse for people in power (if you want to see it that way). In the ancient nomadic days the guy with the most cattle, sheet etc. was the boss. In the days of the antebellum South, the plantation owner with the most slaves was boss. The dollar isn’t the problem – it’s the people. Take away the dollar, and those powerful people will just find something else of value for an “excuse.”

@john65pennington is right on the money (pun intended). Money is a tool. Take that away and people will just find something else. It’s the user of the tool (not the tool) that has to change.

The way I see it, money is the simplest way to define equivalencies. How much bread would a baker need to give you for you to give him vegetables for a week? How much gasoline is equivalent to a case of beer? Is trading a dress for a pig a fair exchange?

@pdworkin, @laureth, and @Jeruba have it right. Money is a convenient method of trade.

It seems to me that you have an idealized belief of a greedless society that would result by not having money. This is not so.

If money was eliminated, that would not change human nature. That would not mean that wealth and resources would be distributed amongst the others. Wealth would be accrued the old way, in such as precious metals, gems, or whatever is of value in your society and hoarded by individuals… just in a bulkier form. Money is not the root of all evil. Greed is not dependent on money.

Even if all money was distributed amongst the poor, I do not believe that would end poverty, famine, and the like. This planet is just too overcrowded for that.

Ending illness? No amount of money or distribution of resources is going to end illness. Diseases give the rich the finger all the time, taking them down fast and hard. Yes, the poor die from illness much more frequently than the rich, however, there is no end to illness.

War and crime would not be ended if money was eliminated. Crime does not always have to do with actual money and war is usually not fought due to money. Yes, sometimes it is, but usually not.

“we have all these resources…all these capabilities..to end hunger..poverty…illness…for all. if the dollar would end one day…so would so much darkness (ie..war, crime..). ever hear of trade?”

Let’s say we did go back to a bargaining economy…what, may I ask, would stop people from stealing the raw goods? What would stop people from going to war over resources? Sure, money would be absent, but the materials that money represents would still be there.

Sure, we have the capabilities, but not the heart. It’s a survival of the fittest world, and increasing one’s chances of survival does not involve helping the competition. It’s cold. It’s cruel. But it’s fact. In the end, people are more interested in what they can gain for themselves, maybe there are a few purely generous souls out there, but it’s not the majority. My common sense tells me a worldwide utopia is only an idealist’s dream.

And as for the root of all evil (thanks, @Arisztid), that’s one of many common misquotations. [ Edited ] One who looks to the Bible for guidance should note that the full quotation is “For the love of money is the root of all evil” (I Timothy 6:10, KJV).

@Jeruba I am not religious and do not know the Bible. I take the quote you cite to mean “greed is the root of all evil.”

@Arisztid, I did not mean to imply that you had misquoted it. You said “Money is not the root of all evil,” and that’s exactly so. It’s the love of it (greed) that is the root of all evil. According to the Bible. And that is a really major distinction.

I do know the Bible pretty well, and I am way-way-way not religious. The upbringing that left me knowing a lot of Bible verses is also why I am an atheist now.

It emerged from the recognition of promissory notes and IOUs. As long the issuer of the money was trusted, such as a strong bank, state or government it was considered an acceptable exchange for goods and services either received or anticipated.

The creation of “fiat money” today, because of the fractional reserve banking process is actually dependent upon debt to create money.
Debt actually creates money in our current sytem. The problem with this system is that it is dependent upon ever increasing debt which is not sustainable.

So trading for goods and services directly while in theory seems outdated, may one day be what we get back to, because our current system will eventually collapse.

money may be the physical object with which the world associates evil but it’s greed that’s the problem. money simply facilities trade.

if you want to eliminate money, move towards eliminating trade. renewable energy, food, water, and shelter whose availability far outstrips our demand would be a good start. once you consider the scale of those issues and the scale and technology necessary to even begin to solve them, then compound it with the understanding that greed has less to do with money and more to do with power… well, now you know why money, however potentially unnecessary, still exists.

now solving greed… that’s the real conundrum.

Money is convenient. If all you could do was barter or trade, then you would not only have to find the person who has what you need, but also the person who wants what you have to offer.

Money isn’t the problem. The problem is greed.

Look at the animal world. See any money there?

@Jeruba Thankyou for clarifying. :) I can see how that quote has been misinterpreted when it is not used in its entirety.

I am not religious in any way but I have heard quite a few Bible quotes that are really good. This is one of them.

@robaccus
Since animals don’t need money then people don’t need money….really….REALLY…
wait I’ll try one
Animals shit on the ground therefore humans don’t need toilets.~

@robaccus I like it when people put forth other ideas, but your logic there is a bit….incomplete. :S To say that we should do this or that because animals do it has serious implications. Let me carry your logic further:

“A Galápagos tortoise forces himself on a female of his species, therefore human men should force themselves on human women at will.”

“A Chimpanzee will kill other chimpanzees that invade its territory, so therefore we should kill a neighbor that wonders into our house.”

As my counter examples indicate, basic animal ways are not always best for humans to imitate or base their decisions off of.

There is a huge gap between the human world and the animal world. An animal’s basic need is to survive. Survival is a daily struggle for them. Finding food is a daily struggle for them. We as humans have moved beyond that. You don’t see animals with stocks, machines, ipods, cars, sky scrapers, laptops, internet, music, literature, hospitals, clothes, fine art etc.

i really appreciate all your responses,views and ideas. i am a dreamer. i want the world to take care of eachother. i want us to share the abundance. i know this is not the majority way of thinking. i do however feel people are coming to a new ,a better state, of being…i do believe it will be the majority one day that doesnt put such a price on things in order to keep people down.
in no way was i saying “money” is the root of evil. i know better. it is people with greed, but mostly FEAR in their hearts. these people who demand the power. the control. its frustrating to me that year after year , we the people, let them have it.
i dont think it would CURE illness either…but if there wasnt such a price for medicine…more people could be saved.
perhaps if prices were more fair…as in fair trade. but then again how does someone put a price on a life. SIGH

If the medicine didn’t cost as much, there probably wouldn’t be as many new medicines to help people, though. Research costs money – facilities, wages for scientists, all of that, and yes, some left over as seed money for the next lab. It’s not necessarily greed that makes drugs cost so much (although I’m sure they don’t mind that money coming in). I’m just saying that if you took the profit margin out, they’d still be expensive.

Without money for research and development, fewer people would be saved.

If you work for a company and at the end of the month they tell you that instead of a paycheck you’ll get a couple of spare desks and dustbins, would you be happy? Of course you could offer your butcher a couple of dustbins when paying for your filet mignon.