Modern Money

[tony human]

“Think of a modern Money economy as comprised of two related subsystems. One creates wealth. It consists of factories, homes, farms, stores, transportation and communications facilities, the natural productive systems of the planet and people going to work in hospitals, schools, stores, restaurants, publishing houses and elsewhere to produce the goods and services that sustain us. The other creates and distributes Money as a convenient mechanism for allocating wealth. In a healthy economy the Money system serves as dutiful servant of wealth creation, allocating real capital to productive investment and rewarding those who do productive work in relation to their contribution.

“In a healthy economy, Money is not the dominant value, nor is it the sole or even dominant medium of exchange. Indeed, one of the most important indicators of economic health is the presence of an active economy of affection and reciprocity in which people do a great many useful things for one another with no expectation of financial gain. Such voluntary sharing creates and maintains the social fabric of trust and mutual caring of which the social capital of any healthy family, community, or society is comprised.

“Pathology enters the economic system when Money becomes society’s defining value and the primary currency of human exchange, grotesquely distorting public values and goals. Money, once a convenient means of facilitating commerce, comes to define the life purpose of the individual and society. The human, social, and natural capital on which the well-being of any society depends becomes subject to sacrifice on the altar of Money making. And Money people prosper at the expense of working people. It’s a social pathology called finance capitalism.”

David Korten in his book ‘Post-Corporate World’ (1999)