Are the people living now happier than those who grew up in the past? Our money system relies on a constant increase in money circulation. The everyday needs were met in the seventies just like they are now. The only difference now is that everything people want or need is reached on a much larger scale because our economy is always trying to keep up with the debt. When the flow of money slows down the banks crave a new alternative to quench its never ending thirst for more. The people are the ones who have to meet the quota or they will suffer. This is a problem because it forces people to basically need money in order to survive in present day. It causes money to almost be a part of them and that is not natural to the human soul. When something unnatural becomes part of a human it can have a negative outcome on their actions. Another way to look at is if humans are born to survive the challenges they face then they will do anything to gain money because it is simply a way to survive. This is why money was able to transform into an empire that needs to keep growing to provide better protection for all the people part of it. Empires have to meet certain requirements to continue functioning. In order for the current money system to work it requires debt, new categories where money can exist, and the constant use of the world’s resources.
Every time a bank creates money and lends it to someone, that person not only needs to pay back the debt, they need to pay back interest on the debt, interest which literally does not exist.
“Money goes towards those who create new goods and services and this is why there are not many jobs to be had reclaiming the commons and protecting natural and cultural treasures” (Eisenstein 103). Bank...
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...estruction. People have the illusion that our generations’ way of living is much better than the past. The truth of it is that money has become a cancer to the human soul and this will cause a variety of negative effects on almost all aspects of life. The banks are huge monsters that become hungrier as people feed it.
Works Cited
Bowditch, Phebe Lowell. Horace and the Gift Economy of Patronage. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2001. magic.lib.msu.edu Library Catalog. Web. 6 Dec. 2013. Classics and Contemporary Thought 7.
Cato, Molly Scott. Environment and Economy. Taylor & Francis, 2011. Print.
Eisenstein, Charles. Sacred Economics: Money, Gift, & Society in the Age of Transition. Berkeley, CA: Evolver Editions, 2011. Print.
Stiglitz, Joseph E. Freefall: America, Free Markets, and the Sinking of the World Economy. W. W. Norton & Company, 2010. Print.
In the essay “Judaism and Economic Reform”, Norman Solomon, a Jewish-American journalist, presents a compelling argument on the basis of the need for economic reform while providing simple religious base solutions. While discussing two major economic problems that plague the world’s current economy, Solomon introduces the Jewish view of the global economy and their general view on economics as a whole. With this introduction to the Jewish worldview of economics we as readers are able to transition into understanding Solomon’s solutions of education & using Jewish law to improve the current state of the global economy. Although Solomon’s ideas of education and relying on Jewish law to improve the global economy seem logical, Sallie McFague, a Christian theologian, provides a different yet similar viewpoint of improving the global economy in her essay “New House Rules: Christianity, Economics, and Planetary Living”. Her discussion of ecological and neo-classical economics forces the reader to revert back to Solomon’s essay to analyze his methods of fixing the current global economy.
In “The Real Truth about Money” (2005), Gregg Easterbrook discusses the effects of money on the people’s happiness. He presents his article with statistics of the generation immediately after the World War II and the current generation. He has experienced both generations as he has lived in both and is very familiar with the difference of people’s lives now and back then. Easterbrook is a highly reputed journalist, he is an authorized writer, editor, and professor. He worked with many professional magazines and newspapers; accordingly, he has enough knowledge to write about the people’s happiness in terms of money. Easterbrook has well convinced the readers with psychological facts from university researches and credible
Nobel Prize winner, professor, author and economist, Joseph E. Stiglitz, wrote “Of the 1%, by the 1%, for the 1%.” Joseph E. Stiglitz served during the Clinton administration as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and is former senior vice president and chief economist of the World Bank. Throughout his piece Stiglitz argues how America’s economy is not likely to succeed in the future. Stiglitz creates a strong and credible argument throughout his piece by using the appeals of ethos, pathos and logos.
Carnegie, Andrew. The Gospel of Wealth. 391st ed. Vol. 148. N.p.: North American Review, 1889. Print.
As the old saying goes, money is power. As the statistics show, some people have an insane amount of money, yet their fellow countrymen have close to nothing. In a struggling economy, unfair distribution of wealth can create real problems and unimaginable hardships for some people. For example, millions of people pay $2 for a bottle of designer water, while millions more live on less than $2 a day. If this is to one day change, wealthy people must adopt a much more magnanimous conviction towards their money.
* Singer, Peter. “Rich and Poor.” Practical Ethics. 2nd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993: 218-246.
A penny saved may be a penny earned, just as a penny spent may begin to better the world. Andrew Carnegie, a man known for his wealth, certainly knew the value of a dollar. His successful business ventures in the railroad industry, steel business, and in communications earned him his multimillion-dollar fortune. Much the opposite of greedy, Carnegie made sure he had what he needed to live a comfortable life, and put what remained of his fortune toward assistance for the general public and the betterment of their communities. He stressed the idea that generosity is superior to arrogance. Carnegie believes that for the wealthy to be generous to their community, rather than live an ostentatious lifestyle proves that they are truly rich in wealth and in heart. He also emphasized that money is most powerful in the hands of the earner, and not anyone else. In his retirement, Carnegie not only spent a great deal of time enriching his life by giving back; but also often wrote about business, money, and his stance on the importance of world peace. His essay “Wealth” presents what he believes are three common ways in which the wealthy typically distribute their money throughout their life and after death. Throughout his essay “Wealth”, Andrew Carnegie appeals to logos as he defines “rich” as having a great deal of wealth not only in materialistic terms, but also in leading an active philanthropic lifestyle. He solidifies this definition in his appeals to ethos and pathos with an emphasis on the rewards of philanthropy to the mind and body.
Filthy Lucre For The Working Affluent RSS. N.p., 18 Dec. 2008. Web. 30 Nov. 2013.
The greatest question many have sought to answer is the creation vs. evolution debate. How did we get here? Were we created or did we evolve randomly? Are we the product of purposeful intelligence or are we the result of countless mistakes? Does it even matter? The story of money is similar to the story of humanity. Was money created or did it evolve. If it was created we can assume it will die. If money evolved then we can assume the future is unknown. In his book, The Ascent of Money a financial history of the world, Neil Ferguson historic analysis of money answers many of these questions. Ferguson believes money essentially mirrors mankind, magnifying back to us our progress, failures, values and weaknesses.” (The Ascent of Money, 358) The history of money shares many similarities to the history of man; Ferguson parallels between finance and Darwinism, illustrating the natural mechanism of our financial ecosystem that evolves, creates, competes, and dies.
When none of us has ever come across such words and formulas, none of the great personalities has ever mentioned it, then who the hell has instilled it in our minds that money brings happiness. But among this debate one question still raises its head - What is happiness? Happiness is not actually leading a luxurious life but the luxury of living a life. Happiness is not actually about expanding your business, but it lies in expanding the horizons of life. Happiness is not having a meal in the most famous restaurant but to have it with your most beloved family. It does not lie in attending honorable parties but to attend a party with honor.
Debt: a word that seems to strike fear in the hearts of Americans. Unfortunately, that fear is being faced. Most of the people who lived through the Great Depression have a distrust for banks and credit cards. These people learned from trusting the bank with large amounts of money, and now go to extreme measures to protect their money. In 2008, a similar recession hit the United States and caused many people to lose money. Credit card debt continually increased throughout the 20th and 21st century. However, credit card debt decreased greatly after the recession of 2008 because Americans stopped spending freely, similar to the 1930s. It is commonly believed that people would be wiser spenders after the recession of 2008, but now in 2015, credit card debt has actually increased almost back to what it was in 2007.
Money is probably one of the most important things in this world. Without it, life would be very hard. With it, you become economically stable making life would be easier in some ways. But the real question is, can money actually make someone physically and emotionally happy? There are many sides to this debate; some who say yes and others who say no. Though most people agree with the statement, “Money doesn’t buy happiness,” there is still a large amount of people who disagree with it. They believe that money does indeed buy happiness and that it’s the most important thing in the world. There is no right or wrong answer to this question, it’s just a matter of what you believe in and your values.
Further consideration: Even though money brings about so much misfortune, someone may declare that if we eliminated the existence of money, our life would be chaotic. However, the humanity has never lived in an environment without money. Therefore, it is too hard to determine people 's living conditions by considering whether they have the concept of money. However, the society seems to run well currently; it is seems to be unnecessary to consider the justification for the existence of
Stiglitz, Joseph (2005), “The Overselling of Globalization,” in Bradley A. Thayer, Nuray V. Ibrayomova (eds.), Debates in International Relations (New York: Longman), 86.
It seems only natural that happiness should flow from having more money. Even if they don’t admit it, people still behave as though it were true. More money means you can have what you want and do what you want. The house you dream of? It’s yours. The new car you desire? Here are the keys. The freedom to enjoy your favourite pastimes? Here’s your racket, the court is down there, just past the pool.