Why is the world so obsessed with money?

Question

First of all, let me explain the concept of money to everybody. You are essentially trading little pieces of paper or metal coins in exchange for objects. Doesn't that sound a little silly to you? But then again, the government attempts to tell us what is silly or not, so I guess I can't blame people for not thinking about it. But I don't understand why everybody is so money obsessed. They go to school for a career that will earn them millions, yet they don't really do much with that money except buy things they don't need.

I come from a pretty poor family, and that's because my parents never pursued an education and had kids they could barely afford. I think my dad went to college, but honestly I'm so distant from my parents I don't even know. My dad is also money obsessed. He barely even talks to us unless it's about money. If he congratulates us on going to school, it's simply to say that with a degree we will be set for life. Not exactly. Just because you get a degree doesn't mean you are guaranteed a job. I'm much younger than him and I understand that. Anyways, that motivated me to pursue a University education. I'm double majoring in drama and psychology. Right now I want to be an actor, a director, a writer, and I want to work backstage. Psychology is something I may pursue, but it's not high on my list. It's something to fall back on, but I am interested in learning psychology. I've been told not to pursue acting because it's a tough life. Umm, since when is life not tough? Everyone acts like majoring in business is the easiest way to a stable life. Not in my opinion. I would imagine that because so many people major in it, it's extremely competitive. At least with my degree, I'm pursuing my real passion, plus I'm learning abstract and creative thinking, skills that I believe are extremely important in life. Our society today would not exist without creativity and abstract thinking.

Other than that, I've been told I'm a very good writer. I could always use this to get me a job. It may not pay $100 dollars an hour, but I would have a job. I've been told by someone online to major in business. Yeah, I could run a business...run it right off a cliff that is. I don't have those types of skills, and I'm not really interested in learning them. My reason for going to school and taking the classes I'm taking is because I am passionate about learning, and I'm enjoying what I'm learning. I'm not here simply for a degree, I'm here to get an education.

The point I'm trying to make is that, to be honest, I feel people have too much money, and it's blinding them to what life is really about. We don't need pieces of paper to survive; we need food and water, shelter, and safety and security. They teach you that in intro psych classes. Yes, money is a way to achieve those things, but too many people spend more than they need to on that stuff. It's sad really, and I just can't understand why people are like this.

What do you think?

Answer 1

Money gets them what they want and when they want it - others have to ask and wait!

Answer 2

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Answer 3

It's chaos, I can't figure the world out at all. We spend so much time and money trying to keep up with the newest versions of everything: cars, clothes, computers, phones, etc that it consumes a large part of our lives and all of our money, and all the while people are starving and suffering all around us.



You might enjoy reading on the Kogi tribe, they are the only pre-columbian tribe left in the Americas and have been practicing the same way of life for thousands of years, and only own the items which are required for survival. They have noticed changes in their environment which have been caused by human activity, and in an effort to change the ways of society before it's too late sent a message down to us from the mountains where they live about how our lifestyle is killing the entire planet.

the Kogi have no prison system, no gang violence, no war, no animal testing, no factory farms, no sweatshops, etc, and they live sustainably, farming the same plots generation to generation without the use of genetically modified food and pesticidesa or destroying the earth for wealth. People call them primitive and us advanced but somehow i'm not seeing it.

Answer 4

Money is a medium of exchange. It is an efficient way to trade the product of your work for the product of the work of others.



Although money is only paper and coin it is more efficient that the barter system. Money may not seem important to you but it is necessary in order to buy the necessities as well as the luxuries that make human life livable; so we absolutely need the pieces of paper called money to survive.



The people who seem to have too much money are after the freedom and the security that their savings will give them. Have you ever felt good by having at least a few months of expenses save up in the bank, I certainly have felt more relaxed, that if I need money for an unforeseeable expense I will be able to afford it.



Seeking money is an expression that you want to live, that you want the best life possible for yourself and the people you care about, and this is nothing to be ashamed of.



I see nothing wrong with seeking money as long as it is done in an ethical manner, by trading your time and the product of your work for it, as long as you don't cheat anyone in the process.

Answer 5

good question. Can i ask you a question, in your opinion "what is life really about?" Making money is the current social idea of the route to happiness, if it's the wrong route then just what is the right one? Creativity and abstract thought is important, yes, but the current monetary system, "trading little pieces of paper or metal coins in exchange for objects" as you put it, is a pretty 'abstract' system that we have 'created'. Dont get me wrong, I know exactly where you are coming from, it's frustrating watching billions of people blindly follow someone else's idea of happiness but different opinions on how it could be are simply that; 'different opinions'. We have somehow emerged as a creative force in this universe and most of us follow the social norm, it's only natural to want to fit in, but at the fore front of this driving force exists people like you, people who want to create something new, people who can see through the old ways that have developed and are driven to push the universe into it's next stage of development. Why that is stronger in some more than others is a mystery but it is fundamental to the way the universe works, striving to be different, striving to create something new, striving to understand itself. Welcome to the eternal game of infinite creativity lol. Take care :)

Answer 6

The monetary system in all of the developed countries is not of money. The word "money" is used as a short hand borrowed from what we used to use. Money today is debt. The money printed is our political leaders offering to people in other countries who use the dollar the promise that we their constituents will work off the debt created by printing that money. When you hear things like we are running a huge debt as a country it's because our political leaders promised too much. It's really not our debt because there was no point at which we agreed to take on this debt (except for people who take on loans and only to that degree).



Money was a receipt. It was a representation of actual goods held in the bank. It's incredibly valuable as it makes trade much more universal and by effect pushing down the costs of production and again making it even more universal. Money in this old system increases the quality of life. It makes saving much easier because you have agreed to pay the bank to save for you and you only hold on to the "receipt". Otherwise you are holding bricks of gold or silver (or any other goods that people will find valuable) in your house.



It's this "buying things we don't need" that makes it possible for people to buy the things they DO need. There are of course addictive personalities but blaming money for that is futile.



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Maybe you should pursue business. You would learn more about the market. I'm glad I did. I am my own boss.

Answer 7

You know what i am just like you from a poor fam , it was just me and mom ,dad left when i was three.I had always wondered the same thing then i made the realization that people obsess because they want what goes with the money not necessarily the money it self. they want power, influence, to fill like their special and above everyone else.Even the ones who say they do all this charity for others are liers,if they truely wanted to be charitable they would go directly too the truely poor and help them by helping them to get a job,give them money to start a life of their own and continue to be in their life as a friend.Honestly it will never happen and that suck but we do what we can and we get by and know that we have something they will never have a real life and real life experience if we fail we know how to get back up if they fall they have not experienced the real world to know how to get back up..

Answer 8

People want money, because it gets them things that make their lives more convenient. Money doesn't buy happiness, but it can make happiness easier to find. Money opens up various opportunities in life that one without money cannot have. For example, a poor man who enjoys playing golf cannot play, because he will not be able to afford to play; however, a rich man who enjoys playing golf can, because he can afford too. So if one's passion in life is something expensive, and that person is poor then they cannot follow their passion; hence following a path that can lead one to money is a very reasonable, and beneficial, thing to do.



Money is not a bad thing. Money exists, because it is a fair economic system. An economy without money is very inefficient.



Also it is great that you are following your passion in life, however you make a bad assumption that other people aren't choosing to follow their passion in life. Most people major in something that they enjoy doing, and very few people major in something just for money. Just because someone majors in business does not mean they aren't following their passion. Maybe their passion is business. Or maybe they can't get an education in their passion, and are simply doing something else that they enjoy doing in order to pursue their passion elsewhere, while making a decent living through their job. So whoever is telling you that you shouldn't major in something you're passionate about is wrong. Very few people advocate majoring for money, because as I stated at the very beginning of this essay: money does not buy happiness, it can only be used as a tool for attaining it. If you don't need money to follow your passion that's great, however some people do. That is why people want money.

Answer 9

I think that the reality of the world we live in is capitalism. Consequently, without a solid source of income, no one can keep themselves or their children stable. In addition, the more money that you make the more capable you are of solving problems. For instance, my 6 y/o daughter was diagnosed with a mid-brain, inoperable tumor. Our reality became very expensive. Fortunately, I generated enough income to provide her with the best of the best. The more income you make, the more stable you are in a capitalistic society and the more capable you are at responding to a crisis, but you are right. At what point does ones quest for stability overflow into greed for more and more? You at least are beginning to develop a career that will permit you to give your children more than survival level. Understand that you cannot change the reality of capitalism, but you can monitor yourself to find a balance and give a little of yourself to your family.

Answer 10

Temptations my dear! As long as you have a favourite musician, or you like a TV program, or like a certain actor or football player, you are bound to need money to spend it. It is no longer about having food to survive, it is about having Arby's or TGI Friday's! It's not about shelter anymore, it is about living in a condo on lake Michigan or a trailer in the middle of no where. It is not necessarily bad thing to want to have a better life I guess and it is up to you to pursue it or not if you are not interested. We are people who have been spoilt by choices.

Answer 11

There could be many factors. Some people love money, because they may have come form a poor background, or they could have just came form a rich background. Some people are made to believe that having money is all that matters. Some people just love money, and believe that they can't get anywhere without it. There are many factors that you have to consider.

Answer 12

I think your young and your kidding your self......I bet in less then 5 years from now you won't believe a single word of what you wrote here....I bet in 10 years from now you will have sold your soul for the company dollar...

sorry if I sound rude,but no one goes to school so they can learn to live poorly....

the real sad part is not that your lying in your post, but that your lying to your self....

Answer 13

You are thinking far too primitively. People are not trading paper, they are trading currency. They trade these papers knowing they can get something for more than they are worth. If anything, that denotes intelligence; which is what separates us from primitive creatures.



Would you trade your cell phone for an acorn if you knew someone who would give you a house for an acorn?

Answer 14

most believe that money makes the world go round

Answer 15

outter and inner happiness.



money will secure your outter happiness...



regardless of how happy you are inside, you still have a problem if you don't have food to eat.

Answer 16

I think what you're saying is that people shouldn't be greedy, and I agree.