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By the year 2500, most humans will rely on and be guided by their intuitions. We will intuit precisely what to do, when to do it and in what way is harmonious with our surroundings. Human "wills" will work together in order to propel and create Heaven on Earth.
Money will cease to be a medium for the exchange of energy. We will be compensated for our insights and for our guiding and helping others with their higher understanding. This aspect of the Ninth Insight is already happening.
This is a quote from another work of fiction. It certainly gives one food for thought, so to speak. I have seen the barter system firsthand...and it works. There are may individuals that have gotten their money and material gains via lying, stealing, cheating and a host of other despicable means. They are not worthy of the comforts, favors or ease of life that money can buy. Therefore, only if you have some positive skill, product, knowledge or integral service than can be traded with another's skill, knowledge and service should you be allowed to prosper. Charity to the less fortunate shoould of course be part of the bigger picture. If you cut money out of the equation, we would have a more healthy, just and honorable society.
That's exactly what we've been fed all these years!
John Kenneth Galbraith talked about how we're encouraged to chase money in order to consume, which is the offered a substitute for community and happiness. We've been trained to believe community is sinister (related to "Communist" you know). Look how the neofascists recently demonized "community organizer" in such short order. (Well, that one was easy because poor black people were involved.) And those 2008 neofascists werent even the most recent generation of them.
In some book, not a Galbraith: in the aftermath of a bombing war in the US, because of their training toward isolation and selfishness Americans would not be likely to share and help each other, they'll shoot each other and take each other's stuff.
Just as AR says
Lately there have been the attacks re social justice, "productives v. nonproductives"... it's all to keep us selfish, frightened, isolated, believing that we should scorn and hate the poor (I think "or that could be you!" works well as a threat on these folks, but they dont manage it the way the Bible recommends), believing that consuming will make us less miserable. Existing to keep the system grinding along.
Last edited by CaseyB; 07-02-2010 at 07:38 PM..
Reason: copyright
That's exactly what we've been fed all these years!
John Kenneth Galbraith talked about how we're encouraged to chase money in order to consume, which is the offered a substitute for community and happiness. We've been trained to believe community is sinister (related to "Communist" you know). Look how the neofascists recently demonized "community organizer" in such short order. (Well, that one was easy because poor black people were involved.) And those 2008 neofascists werent even the most recent generation of them.
In some book, not a Galbraith: in the aftermath of a bombing war in the US, because of their training toward isolation and selfishness Americans would not be likely to share and help each other, they'll shoot each other and take each other's stuff.
Just as AR says
Lately there have been the attacks re social justice, "productives v. nonproductives"... it's all to keep us selfish, frightened, isolated, believing that we should scorn and hate the poor (I think "or that could be you!" works well as a threat on these folks, but they dont manage it the way the Bible recommends), believing that consuming will make us less miserable. Existing to keep the system grinding along.[/quote]
Really screwed up stuff. Reminds me of the mercenaries buying Manhattan for $24 when in reality the Native Americans had no concept of land ownership and thought that they were being given gifts for their hospitality. Oh my, the lies that they taught us in school.
Ayn Rand -- back from the dead and still dead wrong
Someone said that money does not exist in nature. Only humans will do just about anything for money. Put a T bone steak in a tiger's den and it'll be gone in a few seconds. But put a $100 bill there and the tiger's gonna ignore it.
Therefore, only if you have some positive skill, product, knowledge or integral service than can be traded with another's skill, knowledge and service should you be allowed to prosper.
Let me just say upfront that I worship the Almighty Dollar.
For the most part, capitalism is just exactly what you describe. Money simply makes it possible for you to trade your positive value ("skill, product, knowledge, service" as you say) for the positive values provided by others who may be many steps removed.
I have never met Bill Gates, but I earned money with my positive values and traded it for positive values provided by his company. I can not envision getting it done with barter--tremendously inefficient compared to having a universal medium of exchange. The things I have gotten from Bill Gates' company have been worth many hundreds of times their cost to me, yet the company wanted my money more than they wanted those copies of their product. The transaction, like every transaction between free people, had two winners and no losers.
In the small town I live in, the little grocery store has items from at least four continents. The miracle of money lets me interact with positive values from all around the world, on a purely voluntary basis, should I wish to.
I think one of the problems that people have with money, especially those that do not have any or any good means to get any, is that they lack the positive values to offer to the rest of society. The cruel fact is that money can be used to measure your value to the rest of society--the skills, knowledge, product or service. If nobody will pay you much, you are not contributing much.
So when I say I worship the Almight Dollar, I am grateful that we have such a handy and useful way to exchange our positive values for the positive values of others--and glad that I have positive values that the rest of society finds useful.
It ain't just for the exchange of value - it is used quite a bit to destroy value.
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yeah, but
