is money really that great?

Is money really that great? It has provided myriads of jobs for entrepreneurs, bankers, brokers etc. Money, when used as an investment, creates jobs and increases economic activity. Money, when saved, gives security for the future. It motivates people to work harder in order to live more lavishly. It has allowed companies to grow and industrialize the world. It has provided us an easier mean of bartering goods and services. But is it needed in order to have a fully functioning society? Has it really done more good than harm?

If money were not an objective, then many people would be encouraged to choose whatever career path they want to.  Many people currently have jobs that they hate in order to make money. Alan Watt once asked college graduates what they wanted to become, “many of them said that they would like to become artists or writers”, but in fear of a low salary they chose to follow other career paths. Even my dad slaves away in his desk, succumbing to tedious amounts of pressure everyday just to pay for my education and comfortable life in Singapore.

Money also gives birth to greed, selfishness and divides society into haves and have-nots. It has created a society where some people have so much money that they indulge in wasteful consumption and pressure on the scarce resources of the planet, while there are other people who don’t even have access to basic things such as food, shelter and healthcare. It is even said that a rich man’s shampoo has more fruit than a poor man’s bowl.

A society without money would allow us to end this monetary inequality. Did you know that 13.5% of the world’s population is undernourished? If we can ration our food so that everyone gets a sufficient diet, then we can solve the problem of world hunger and malnutrition. There is enough food to provide 10 billion people while our population is estimated to be 7 billion. If we are to ration food, we would collect all the harvested food from the farmers and redistribute it. Imagine famished children looking into your eyes for hope. If it isn’t their fault that they were born poor, why are they starving?  

Not only would it solve hunger, but a society without money would make education free. People would be able to attend school regardless of their parents job. This would be beneficial to students who cannot afford to go to school.  There are around 80 million children who do not go to school. Many of them live in remote areas and have to walk for hours to go to school or have to pay a lot of money for teachers to come to their village to teach. Not only could we help improve their education by building schools in their village but we can provide more job opportunities to teachers who might be looking for a job.

Without money we can help develop infrastructure significantly. If money were no object then with sufficient resources and labour, we can start building schools in rural areas, we can start improving roads; especially in less economically developed countries so that people can have an access to safer and more direct roads. If there is more development, then more labour can be hired, creating more job opportunities. We can significantly improve the lives of people. New hospitals can be built and healthcare shall be free as everyone should be allowed the right to medicine and treatment.

A huge problem that comes packaged with this revolutionary idea is the idea that people will not be motivated to get a good job. What would happen in a society without money is that the higher the skill that your job requires, the better the rations and wants you get. For example if you are head of marketing then you will get a better house, you own a better television, you receive more rations than a waiter. This will not only help people to be motivated to work harder but still allow people to have all their needs satisfied. Although unemployed people will be forced to live in a tent similar to ones that refugees live in with cramped conditions, they will still have access to all their needs.

In conclusion, a society without money would help solve all of humanity’s problems. Although it will take a long time to fully adapt to this new society, it will be for the better in the long run. A green, devious piece of paper should not be allowed to determine whether we get healthcare/education or not. If you are born poor, that doesn't mean you don't have the right to human needs.

---