The subject of money has been a hot topic in the past decade. One important controversy evolves around whether money is a commodity or a commons. As a commodity, money is a property that people can buy and sell, give away, or stick under a mattress. As a commons, money is available to all, owned by none, and protected by civic authorities. Money can be used as a commodity and a commons, but it does make a difference which one we see as more fundamental.
When the European countries agreed to move from national currencies to a “common currency,” one can assume that they thought of money primarily as a means of exchange, as a currency. If we want to talk (trade) with each other, why not use the same language (money)? Not a bad idea. Today it appears that they have failed to protect the “common” nature of money.
I am beginning to think this line of reasoning about money makes a lot of sense. Check out Positive Money What do you think?
Scenes of hunger, TV game shows, Lotteries, Breadlines, Shopping, or Donations: where do we learn about money? Many of us desire it, work for it, wish we had more of it, and yet we also know that it is not the answer to many questions. When is money the answer? Check out the following five questions
It would make a world of difference if we stopped treating land and labor as commodities and began to recognize them as providers of wealth. It might make an even greater difference if we discarded our childhood view of money as something to put in a piggy bank and took a more adult view of money as something we share in common.
