Foe tha Love of $

There is a very serious problem in this world. As far as I can tell, this problem extends as far back in history as human record. Greed, the most contagious pestilence to strike our species. Money is such a falsity, just a medium between work and the objects one needed to survive. But the pursuit of money has become an end in itself.

Kierkegaard: "a young man today would scarcely envy another his capacities or skill or the love of a beautiful girl or his fame, no, but he would envy him his money. Give me money, the young man will say, and I will be all right."

Money is existential and abstract; it has no value. So why is it such an obsession? Examine the distribution of wealth within the United States. You've heard the statistics, and if you haven't, then educate yourself. Some of these people, these millionaires and billionaires, just have to start giving it up. Seriously, just give your money away—you have more than you could possibly spend, more than most people could even imagine. Honestly, how much is your lifestyle going to change if you go from having $300 million to having $30 million? With $30 million, you could afford to buy a new house every year just off of the interest, and people think that they need more than that?
A hypothetical businessman has made a massive fortune of $300 million by the time he reaches the age of 40. Does he retire, leave some room for new entrepreneurs to make their way in the world? Or does he say, "I'm still young enough, why not try to double my money?"
And say he succeeds: will he be satisfied? Or will he merely want more? The pursuit of money is endless and hollow. It is like a drug, providing a momentary rush from the original profit, a rush which soon fades and leaves one craving another.
If you really have the resources, if you really have so much money, then why not invest in something that matters? Set up scholarship programs on a massive scale. Develop agriculture in starving countries. Just give money to local artists. Buy computers for inner city schools. Volunteer to supplement the income of public school teachers nationwide. Money is meaningless, but people matter. We all need to help each other make the world a better place, and we can do that through giving everyone an education and a voice.
Greece fell. Rome fell. The caliphates fell. All the greatest civilizations in history disintegrated eventually, and when that happens to the US, which is a statistical inevitability, history will remember us for our intellectual and artistic contributions to the world culture. As it stands, the one thing we are most likely to be remembered for causing is global warming. If we want to make up for that, we seriously have to educate the hell out of everyone, present as much opportunity to people as possible. We have the resources, but we don't have the will to do it.



The value of gold, before its abilities as a conductor were known, was drawn from its beauty and rarity. If you want to be valuable as a person, don't accrue ridiculous amounts of cash. Be beautiful and rare.