Before you get on your really high horse and start calling me shallow, I’ve had a good hard think about this one. And by a good hard think, I mean roughly the last four of five years, and probably more than Joe Bloggs has ever thought about it. And as I’m currently reading the novel ‘Keep The Aspidistra Flying’ (George Orwell) about a man whose distaste and contempt for all things money related and whose life goes into freefall after shunning the consumerist lifestyle, now seems a better time than ever to really face up to the facts about the stuff that really does make the world go round.
Money, It’s a Hit
I’m anything but a capitalist (apart from a commie obviously), so I feel this alone qualifies me to view this with some perspective. As a poor student, I am far from wrapped up in a world where all I want to do is spend and acquire money purely for the sake of it. And, as I’m sure thousands of other students out there will agree with me, I have also learnt to appreciate money for what it is; a means to an end.
Money Can’t Buy You Happiness…
You might argue that saying that money is ‘a means to an end’ is a cop out; that it’s an obvious and easy thing to say. But how many people do you know who really appreciate money for what it is? By this, I mean how many people do you know who blow there money on things they don’t even need?
A friend brought an amazing quote (from ‘Fight Club’, a brilliant film) to my attention the other day which sums up perfectly what I’m trying to say; ‘an entire generation pumping gas, waiting tables; slaves with white collars. Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don't need.’ The key part in this phrase is the last part, ‘working jobs we hate so we can buy shit we don’t need’. A faster car, a bigger televsion, a better phone, copious amounts of new clothes, a more sophisticated computer, a louder stereo; all rubbish that burns holes in our pockets. For what? Happiness? Social status? Self- fulfillment?
We as a society are brought up on hyper- consumerism, with companies rubbing there pudgy hands together everytime Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, Mothers Day and whatever else rolls around. All so they can make more money. So they can spend in on a faster car, a bigger television, a better phone… You get the picture.
… But You Can’t Be Happy Without Money.
Whilst that may be one end of the spectrum, the other extreme would be to have no money, which of course results in complete poverty. Nowhere to live, no money for food, no money to go out and socialise, no money to for a big television, a good phone or a loud stereo.
No, but seriously, it really is as simple as that. Not much further explanation is required. Having no money, or very little money only for basic things such as a roof over your head and food restricts you in every way and results in pure, unrelenting misery. In the novel I mentioned earlier (‘Keep the Aspidistra Flying’) the main character (a poet) has a complete case of writers’ block through lack of stimulation and isolation. I’m sure this is reflective of many people in society, and this is why it always frustrates me when I hear people hypocritically preaching ‘money cant buy you happiness’ as they burn down the motorway in their BMW bellowing down their iPhone. Money is survival, money is existence, money is freedom; in that order. Nothing more. Once you can survive, you can exist, once you exist you can be free; free from petty everyday money worries.
Capitalism has taught us to worship money; to love it and to be a slave to it. Money funds wars, stops drugs helping the sickest people in the world, money is the objectification of evil, and brings out the worst in human beings; greed. But without money there couldn’t have been prosperity, and without prosperity we wouldn’t live the way we do today, in our houses with central heating, marble kitchens and jacuzzi bathrooms. But the thought of hunting my own food, building my own house in return for my freedom sounds rather appealing to me. How about you?
'The real measure of your wealth is how much you'd be worth if you lost all your money.'
Money by Pink Floyd
Money, get away
Get a good job with more pay
And your O.K.
Money, it's a gas
Grab that cash with both hands
And make a stash
New car, caviar, four star daydream
Think I'll buy me a football team
Money get back
I'm all right Jack
Keep your hands off my stack
Money, it's a hit
Don't give me that
Do goody good bullshit
I'm in the hi-fidelity
First class traveling set
And I think I need a Lear jet
Money, it's a crime
Share it fairly
But don't take a slice of my pie
Money, so they say
Is the root of all evil
Today
But if you ask for a rise
It's no surprise that they're
Giving none away
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