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You're a Slave to Money, Then You Die

churchlifejournal.nd.edu

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Re: You're a Slave to Money, Then You Die

#31

Post by scroot »

raverbashing wrote: post #19
peignoir wrote: post #6

It’s ad reductio it’s like saying soccer is pushing a ball. You could also say life is waking up eating sleeping and then death. It’s true but it’s definitely an emotional argument. I preferred the lectures on free will by Conway, it does not answer anything but it allows for a nice réflexion

Agreed. We might as well say, you're a slave to oxygen and water, then you die.

By saying this, you are confirming the author's argument about how (recent) cultures interpret the role of markets in all of life

Re: You're a Slave to Money, Then You Die

#32

Post by enkid »

UncleSlacky wrote: post #21

Money, particularly fiat currency, is a useful fiction. You're not a slave of money as such, it's a tool of enslavement by those who control how much money is allowed to exist and how much is allowed to circulate. As Iain M. Banks put it, "Money is a sign of poverty".

The act of enslavement is in fact a two way street. You have to choose to want whatever you can buy with money in order to be enslaved. It's a choice most people just don't know they are making. For many, it's also a choice that makes sense if they want to survive. Money lets you buy food, clothes, and shelter. Making a choice to be enslaved for those is clear(but still a choice). Making a choice to be enslaved beyond that is not as clear.

Re: You're a Slave to Money, Then You Die

#35

Post by [deleted] »

wegs wrote: post #18
TheOtherHobbes wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Professors don't "live on charity" any more than anyone else with a job does. If you disagree, stop paying them and see how that works out for you.

The majority of their income comes from government subsidies and from charitable donations. At some universities, over time, that's built up into endowments which support professors. That's very much the definition of "live on charity."

[deleted]

Re: You're a Slave to Money, Then You Die

#36

Post by eru »

deathhand wrote: post #25

Government was always supposed to be influenced 'by the people' those people are usually aristocrats. That is fine if there are enough of them with different ideas. What has happened is the consolidation of the artiscroacy and thus the means of influence of government. This is where we are getting our ugly problems from. What is the first step to fixing this? Bring voting into the 21ST century AND NOT HAVE VOTING SOF…

Voting is inherently aristocratic. Sortition gets you democracy.

At least according to some Greeks and Frenchmen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sortition#Democratic):

> The idea that democracy is associated with sortition remained common in the 18th century. Charles de Secondat, baron de Montesquieu writes in The Spirit of the Laws, "The suffrage by lot is natural to democracy, as that by choice is to aristocracy."

Re: You're a Slave to Money, Then You Die

#38

Post by fennecfoxen »

peignoir wrote: post #6

It’s ad reductio it’s like saying soccer is pushing a ball. You could also say life is waking up eating sleeping and then death. It’s true but it’s definitely an emotional argument. I preferred the lectures on free will by Conway, it does not answer anything but it allows for a nice réflexion

It’s also as old a story as Genesis 3:19.

“By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return."

Re: You're a Slave to Money, Then You Die

#39

Post by eru »

UncleSlacky wrote: post #21

Money, particularly fiat currency, is a useful fiction. You're not a slave of money as such, it's a tool of enslavement by those who control how much money is allowed to exist and how much is allowed to circulate. As Iain M. Banks put it, "Money is a sign of poverty".

Fiat currency isn't even necessary. Fiduciary money is sufficient.

Eg a classic gold standard, fractional reserve banking and private note issue. Like they had in Canada or Scotland.

Re: You're a Slave to Money, Then You Die

#40

Post by lotsofpulp »

thefounder wrote: post #26
raverbashing wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed. We might as well say, you're a slave to oxygen and water, then you die.

Not really. It's not like you are workibg all your life to "earn" oxygen and water. Fortunately(for most of us) we are living in an utopia as far as oxygen and water is concerned. You get them for "free"/with minimal effort.

First time I’ve read that providing clean water on demand to everyone at a sufficient pressure is “minimal effort”.

To me, the infrastructure and experimentation and science that leads to all homes having reliable, potable water is miraculous.

There’s very large swaths of the planet where you are supposed to drink only bottled water, from a bottle unsealed in front of you.

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