Money the new god

820 Words4 Pages
MONEY: THE NEW GOD

Men and money have always been an issue in how they relate to each other. Men created money which is a non-living thing, but when we see what money is capable of doing to people, a question rises about it: Do men control money or is money controlling men?

“Money is any token or object that functions as a means of exchange that is socially and legally accepted in payment for goods and services and in the settlement of debts. Money also serves as a standard of value for measuring the relative worth of different goods and services and as a store of value.” (Wikipedia, money 1) Originally, money was created as a concept, by men for convenience, to make faster trading systems and so forth. As the quotes highlights, we need to understand that money is not necessarily a term that refers only to currency; it may be any kind of token which has a value by itself. In other words, money is not really an object. Money is an abstract concept that human beings have created and that they give to objects. However, this concept is in the same level of concepts such as God, soul, etcetera, deferring to the fact that money is something we talk about more everyday, and a concept that we do not really decide if we control. In fact, many times we are not able to imagine a society in which money is unimportant, whereas more and more people care nothing or little for God, life after death, and other spiritual concepts.

Money, nowadays, is much more than what definitions state. It is a symbol of power, glory, fame, and in a down-to-earth perspective, our entire happiness depends on whether we have it, or we do not. This last point is probably harsh to admit as true. However, we need to satisfy our basic needs: if we are hungry and homeless, we are less likely to achieve true happiness, and money is necessary at least to get food and a place to live. Moreover,
Open Document