I’m a Teenager Begging For an Answer: Why is our Society so Focused on Money?
Is anyone else getting bombarded with Super Bowl news today? I swear, my entire newsfeed is full of information about last night’s game: stats, the commercials, the halftime show — heck, even information about the streaker! I can tell you, I did not need to know that Tom Brady, being 43, is the oldest quarterback to win a Super Bowl, or that The Weekend put 7 million of his own dollars into his halftime performance. Seriously — who asked!? But what I can’t get over, while reading through the endless stream of articles, is the sheer amount of money that was spent on this one night. A singular night! Millions of dollars just — poof! Gone!
Maybe it’s because I’m a poor ole’ farm town boy, but I can’t even fathom why it’s necessary to spend that much money on the Super Bowl. It’s a game for goodness sakes! Couldn’t that money go to better use? I’m serious about this! People are starving in our communities, people freezing to death out on the streets (there’s a low tonight of -8 where I live), and yet we’re blowing millions of dollars for a game. I cannot wrap my mind around that. That’s insanity!
These thoughts have led me down a whole rabbit hole of thinking, and eventually, I began to wonder this: what would our society look like if money didn’t exist? I’m not talking about Communism or anything like that, but what if there was no money. That means a society without the concept of money. No substituting it for shells or furs or whatever — nothing like that! What would it look like?
I’m definitely not an economic expert of any sort — I’m 16 for goodness sakes! But I’m writing out my ideas to pose them to the rest of you. Some of you might know better than me, so if you want to reach out (thecaseykeys@gmail.com) I would really appreciate it.
As I dove into my thoughts I realized, if there’s no concept of money, nothing has value. The concept of money has to exist for goods to have a monetary value. So, essentially, because of this basic concept, in a moneyless society, a TV would be worth as much as a stapler. A cell phone or laptop would be worth as much as a pencil. Nothing has an assigned value.
But here’s where things get tricky. Every item you own has a personal value. When my siblings and I were younger, my mom made us all scrapbooks (except my little sister — she got forgotten). They really aren’t that much — simply a few pictures pasted on some paper — but the sentimental value is extravagant. If our house caught fire, I can tell you that I would rather save those photo albums than our couch. And, our couch cost significantly more than those books! But, the sentimental value is different.
And here’s where I start getting confused. Like, I said before, I’m no expert. I’m just putting my thoughts out there and posing some ideas. And, y’all! I’m serious! If you’re smarter than me, please reach out! I’m genuinely just trying to figure out how a moneyless world would work and what it would look like!
But here’s what confuses me. Monetary value cannot exist in a moneyless society. Well, that makes sense, but sentimental and personal value can’t not exist. As a species, we will always assign personal value to objects. Certain items and thingamabobs will mean more to us than others. Here’s the real kicker: If a society agrees on the personal and intrinsic value of an object, doesn’t that create a monetary system?
Think about it: as a society, we value our cell phones more than our tables. Monetary value aside, our cell phone provides us more use than a table does. We can stay connected with our friends and family, search the web for hours on end, and watch movies or videos on our phones. But a table? I mean, you can eat at it, work at it … and that’s about it. A cell phone provides more value to a person than a table does.
So, in that sense … it’s impossible for a moneyless world to operate. There will always be a system of wealth in place, even if that wealth is just in our heads.
I really want to know what the rest of you guys think about what I’m saying. For real, if you’re an expert or have your own thoughts, leave a comment, or send me an email! My thoughts run so much deeper than this. If we as a species never developed personal values to objects — what would society look like then? Would everybody be on the same social level? How would anything get done, if there’s no benefit to working? And, would anybody accept a society where everyone is monetarily equal? Is it in the human brain to want to be better than the rest?
Guys, it’s just so weird to think about this! It genuinely gets me so excited and curious. And, I guess we’ll never see what that looks like. Because, the truth of the matter is, our society puts too much value on money.
When did we lose sight of the fact that there’s more to life than a thick wallet? Every day, I hear about big companies exploiting humans, just to line their own pockets. Today, in one of my English classes, we discussed how Big Pharma is exploiting diabetics by raising insulin costs.
Why can’t we treat other human beings as more than a source of wealth? From a 16-year-old to the world, I beg of you: don’t put so much value on money. Why would you anyway? There are so many more things to life: experiences and opportunities to help others. And let’s face it. If you die as a rich and famous CEO, nobody will remember you for more than a greedy moneymaker. They will celebrate your death. But if you put more value on experiences and helping others, you will die having lived a full life. You will have memories that transformed you, and people will miss you. That one boy whose life you saved — he will always remember you. Those camping trips you used to take with your son? He will forever be grateful.
That sounds a bit cliché, and maybe it is. But please, at least think about it?
Hi! I’m Casey Keys, a 16-year-old from a crusty, dusty town in Illinois. If you enjoyed this article, you may be interested to know that I pledged to write an article a day, starting on February 7, 2021. You can check out my other articles here on Medium, at https://thecaseykeys.medium.com/
