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DArtagnan
Guest
I tend to think of it as something other than greed, because we're all greedy. It's human nature to want and desire - and we can't avoid it. In that way, it's useless to talk about - because we all have it and we can't change it.
Instead, I think of it as ignorance - and a lack of understanding. Essentially, a misguided greed - if you will. People focus on money because they think it will bring them something that matches or exceeds the effort to acquire it and they don't really consider other people that much when they're not facing them and their troubles.
The thing about money is that it's not actual value - but a symbol of value. That makes money intangible and it's a very unfortunate barrier between the reality of value and the perception of value. We carry within us an instinct to survive - and it's hard to resist money when you can't get a firm idea of how much you'll potentially need.
It doesn't help that we've made the acquisition of mostly superfluous items into something that's worth working for. For whatever reason, we've managed to convince ourselves that we're worth more as human beings if we own more - or if we have more money than other people.
That's another side of the same coin. Another kind of ignorance.
Unfortunately, it's a misconception of value that's shared by endless millions, making it very hard to combat.
The only solution I can come up with is doing away with money and the uneven distribution of resources, which I've so often talked about.
Something so unrealistic and implausible that it won't happen for hundreds or thousands of years. But, unless we manage to eliminate ourselves before then, it WILL happen eventually. Just like it will eventually happen that we stop using multiple languages and other destructively stupid notions.
Instead, I think of it as ignorance - and a lack of understanding. Essentially, a misguided greed - if you will. People focus on money because they think it will bring them something that matches or exceeds the effort to acquire it and they don't really consider other people that much when they're not facing them and their troubles.
The thing about money is that it's not actual value - but a symbol of value. That makes money intangible and it's a very unfortunate barrier between the reality of value and the perception of value. We carry within us an instinct to survive - and it's hard to resist money when you can't get a firm idea of how much you'll potentially need.
It doesn't help that we've made the acquisition of mostly superfluous items into something that's worth working for. For whatever reason, we've managed to convince ourselves that we're worth more as human beings if we own more - or if we have more money than other people.
That's another side of the same coin. Another kind of ignorance.
Unfortunately, it's a misconception of value that's shared by endless millions, making it very hard to combat.
The only solution I can come up with is doing away with money and the uneven distribution of resources, which I've so often talked about.
Something so unrealistic and implausible that it won't happen for hundreds or thousands of years. But, unless we manage to eliminate ourselves before then, it WILL happen eventually. Just like it will eventually happen that we stop using multiple languages and other destructively stupid notions.