money vs. true freedom

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As long as our monetary based economy exists, the human race will never be free.

http://youtu.be/5YXAvdYhhWc

Define please free?

And do you mean this particular monetary economy, or any conceivable monetary economy?

And in place of cash and credit - what?

And what parts of contemporary life would you prefer to hold on to?

I think by "free" he means as long as people are forced to work for ulterior motives (such as money, power, sex etc) instead of building an electric car just because people might be able to use it. The title here says "money versus true freedom" and I know I'm not free to do anything I can't afford to do.

But there is nothing in the system that prevents one from working pro bono. I suspect if you look closely EVERYBODY uses unpaid time for recreation, family, or contributions to the larger community.

Futher, if you are freed from the money, you STILL have to gather the food, you STILL have to mate and repair your shelter, you STILL have do deal with accident and illness.

The hunter / gatherer had less security and more opportunity to leave. I have more protection from elephants and elements and fewer options.

I'm not convinced anyone in the universe is much more free than any other - certainly no working system.

Money isn't the root of all evil, it is just a symptom. Getting rid of money doesn't get rid of territorialism, status seeking, etc. Money is simply a manifestation of these things and can easily be replaced by something else to fulfill those desires. Like how chocolate bars and chips are currency in prison and how prison punks are considered property.

As long has humans are bound by the laws of physics (and they are, because humans are material beings from the ground up) they will never be free. When we jump off of high places without a parachute, fall we must with a terminal velocity of about 120 mph.

ruveyn

NOBODY bothers to get it right. If we bothered to stop thinking with misquotes and slogans, we MIGHT spot the difference:

LOVE of money [not the money itself, guns rarely kill people ] is [checking the Greek] A root of all evils.

NOT money is responsible for all the bad stuff.

Obviously but it gives the impression that money turns good people bad as opposed to appealing to greed that already exists within people. I don't believe power corrupts but that the corrupt seek power. Love of money is just one manifestation of hedonism.

Money is a medium of exchange. It can only be evil if trade and production are evil.

ruveyn

I know that, but this thread is about money infringing on freedom so that's what the context of my post falls under.

Money can't buy happiness, but poverty buys even less.

The very idea of freedom is a vague slippery notion. At the extremes you could argue that there is infinite freedom or that there is zero freedom.

Yes that is kind of how I feel, obviously it gets much more complex.....however in basic terms I tend to agree. though money itself is nothing its the ideas and behavior behind it.

Obviously but it gives the impression that money turns good people bad as opposed to appealing to greed that already exists within people. I don't believe power corrupts but that the corrupt seek power. Love of money is just one manifestation of hedonism.[/quote]

Neither Jesus nor anyone else who has lived over 25 years in the world would deny human fallenness [reformulate as you choose, doesn't bother me].

But note: HAVING money is not the issue, the penniless pennypinchin moneygrubbere is a fact of life. You can HAVE a thing and not care; you can lack itr and be torn apart by wanting it.

But power DOES corrupt - and it does not take much. I served a stint as Dept chair - my lost years. I am if I do say it a pretty well meaning and nonmanipulative type. By two thirds through my third year, I found myself - with the best intentions - doing political things that frankly shock and not a little disgust me.

Variation #1: Money can't buy everything, but poverty buys you nothing.

Variation #2: Money can't buy friends, but at least you can afford a better class of enemy.

Variation #3: Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy you the kind of misery you prefer.

Variation #4: Whoever first said that money can't buy happiness simply didn't know where to shop.

Variation #5: Money isn’t everything, but it’s a long way ahead of what comes next.

As long as gravity is in effect the human race will never be free. Skinned knees and sore backs are inevitable.

As long as we age we will never be free. Try as we will to avoid it, we shall all die.

ruveyn