My First BruceTheme: $$$$$

Is money the root of all evil?

First thing I must do is define two things: What is money, and what is evil.

We commonly think of money as a means of trade between people for goods or services. If we want to buy a car, we don’t give the car dealership a couple thousand pounds of rice. We give them money, so they can buy whatever goods they want, like some TV advertising so they can lull more customers in.

What can be used as money? Whatever people will accept as money. If you create your own currency, it means nothing unless there is some power to back it up. Imagine I started handing out little TimmyCunnilingusCoupons. Pieces of paper are pretty much worthless. But, if I say, “This piece of paper will give you cunnilingus”, suddenly, that piece of paper has some worth to it. It is now worth one session of cunnilingus, assuming Timmy actually lives up to this agreement. Back in the day, it used to be that there was one dollar bill for every bar of gold. (In the US, at least.) Now? When they need more money, sadly, they just print more. Hence the phenomenon of inflation. What could once buy you a house can now only buy you a car. Same money. Different value.

What is evil? Evil is such an emotionally charged word. Asking if something is evil seems almost like a moral evaluation. Yet, more extreme. One might say Hilter was “evil”, but that just seems like propaganda in my eyes. What if Hitler once actually did something nice? Well, he’s still evil. Perhaps I shall consider something “evil” to be something that tends towards negative morality. We’ll see how this applies to an inanimate object.

I originally wanted to split the question into two: Is money intrinsically evil, and is money extrinsically evil. But I don’t even need to go this far, as the initial question is basically saying that for every case of evil, money is the casual root. But, I feel like exploring this. : )

Without much explanation, it’s clear money isn’t intrinsically evil. Nor is it intrinsically good. Money is simply an inanimate object and can be used for both good and evil. Does the possession of excess money make somebody evil? No, not really. Are banks evil because they possess excess money? No. It’s clear money has some extrinsic properties of evil, though it’s not exclusively evil. Money causes people to be materialisic by money’s very barterous nature. But, money can also be used for good. It’s so obvious, I won’t bother giving examples.

I shall observe that most people with power have money. Money allows nations to gather weapons, build armies, circumcise their children; cause evil. The simple question remains, can you be evil without money? Let’s suppose I’m a terrorist. I need some bombs to blow up the White House. How will I get these bombs? I could buy them. That requires money. I could build bombs. But, the supplies will cost money. I could make the supplies. Alas, somewhere along the lines, I will needs things that cost money.

But, there is a flaw in seeing money connected to everything and assuming that because it’s causally related that it’s morally responsible. Remember, correlation does not mean casuation. If we observe money in a causal chain leading to evil, we are just as justified in blaming the clothes on our backs. Even if I choke somebody with our my hands, somebody had to pay for the food I’ve eaten my entire life to make those arms sufficiently strong enough to kill my opponent. It’s like there’s money flowing through my veins.

Let’s imagine a world without money. Imagine a world without civilization. Without money as we know it. Go back to bartering. Oh hell, fuck bartering. We’re back in caves, and when we want a blowjob, we smack our women on the back of the head. And sometimes, the women won’t want to fellate us. So, there is an unwanted sexual advance. And there you have it. Evil. EVIL!!! Completely free of money as a root.

So, it is not the case that money is the root of all cases of evil. End of story. But, you knew that already, didn’t you? Ah, this was a fun exercise.