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they say money is the root of all evil. I disagree with this. greed is the root of all evil, and money fuels greed the most because it's so versatile. that's why people seek to acquire more and more and more of it. before currency, there was direct trade. people traded goods for goods. and while there was still things like theft, it was on a much smaller scale compared to when currency appeared.

so, would life be easier if money wasn't involved, and direct trade was used instead??
for example, trading a chair for something worth just as much to you as the chair is to the person trading with you??
that way, the government wouldn't be able to take your well earned money.....
xX

i suppose my opinion of money has changed slightly.
i don't totally disagree with the concept of money, i still perceive it as useful in certain ways, but i do see the negative side of it now.
Although, even if we do all agree that money is a bad thing, i suppose there isn't much we can do about it, all we can do is accept it.
but like most things, it has it's negatives and positives.
xX

it would slow the economy down tremendously if we went back to direct trading goods for goods. before money appeared, people had to carry their goods from place to place... it was cumbersome. and if they didnt have enough of their own product to trade for something they needed they were stuck. nowadays, we have worldwide trade all over the globe from country to country. without money to make the ships that transports these items, who would make the ships? they're very costly, what would one have to trade for such a thing?

it would be one thing if people made their own products.. grew their own food, had their own farms, made their own clothes..made their own cloth, then they would have things to trade for. but for the most part, at least in the more advanced countries, these skills have been lost to all but a few. it would be moving backwards.

what people need to do is get a handle on their greed and desires.. stop desiring more than what is really necessary. this way, there would be more of a chance for charity and compassion for those who have so much less than they need.

Currency is a good idea because it allows for a common value. It's like trying to add 7/8 and 2/7 when there is no currency. However, it has become easier to lose or steal because it is compact. Money becomes dangerous when we forget that it is just a piece of paper.

"The best things in life are free."
~Sugarland

it is what *creates* the classes. wealth serves to separate people and creates the classes we have. it's got everything to do with how much material gain the person has and it's got nothing to do with the quality of the person. your statement sounds to me as tho you feel someone born poor should stay poor because it's their 'place'. and I totally disagree.

a persons quality is not dictated by how much money they have. a person born into poverty can have a nobler heart, keener mind, and brighter spirit than someone born into wealth.

Thank both of you for addressing the whole "monetary worth decides a person's value" issue.

As far as money is concerned, our society has made a necessary evil in my point of view. Money, in and of itself, is neither good nor bad really... It's the means to an end that provides a simple way to get things that we need and want. Like others have said so well in replies above me.

But it is the materialism and greed that drives our society that's bad. Many people can't, or don't want to, draw a line between what they want and what they really need. You need food, shelter, and clothing. I need money to pay my rent, to buy groceries, to keep my utilities on, and to buy clothes so I don't have to walk around naked (it's too cold for that right now). However I don't need money to eat out everyday (even though I want too) or to buy $800 purse now matter how pretty it might just because some celebrity had one - I wont die, or be a lesser person because of it.

Our society, through the media, bombards daily with images of things that we just "have to have" in order to live a rich, full life. Jewlery, expensive cars, expensive clothes... the list goes on and on. You don't need that stuff to happy, to be a worth while person. ANd it's that skewed idea of want and need that sets the value and worth of item. If you correct the problem of people believing that their worth has a human being is directly equal to their net worth you'll fix a lot of problems with society.