I have thought long and hard about this for a long time. How did we get to the point, where like it was said in Pirates 3: currency is the currency of the realm? Both me and my friend Ben have had issues with this, mainly because we both see the strange flaw with this: What is the true value of money? It is currency, but what does it stand for? Sure it was at one point based on gold, but what value does gold have? Sure, gold is rare, but what value does rarity have? there is less of it in the world true, but why does that make that item valuable? Sure, It is hard to get if it is rare, but why does difficulty indicate value? It involves a lot of effort and expense to the obtainer, that is apparent, but, why does expense and effort define value, when there are many difficult things in life I can place effort into, to obtain a rare product that is not valuable in the sense of currency or even product? This flaw is extended by the current dollar standard, the "Prosperity of the government" which refutes the rarity issue, causing the dollar, a printed bill, to be the new rare item, and thus regulated to keep its rarity, to make sure that there is less money in the world, to make dollars hard to get, to involve a lot of effort and expense. It is a simulation, a game that we as modern society participants play to validate a system to numerate our value and pretend that cotton with green ink is worth working at a job for, and thus validate the lifestyle of the modern man, and further validate the entitlement of a consumer culture.
I have once defined "Money" as an item with no value or intrinsic worth until exchanged for an item or service. A "wage" is a number that is arbitrarily attributed to the assumed value of ones time or (in the case of those lucky bastards with a salary) potential for work as expressed in money. The transitive property would then indicate that to work for a wage is to ask someone to quantify your time or effort into an item that is worthless until it is used for things that have worth relative to the consumer. So, the question remains, why do we work our lives to death for money?
I have heard it said that it is because we live in a cultured society and do not live like animals, who are ruled by survival of the fittest. These same ironic individuals are also not only benefiting from a society of culture and commerce, but are also contradicting themselves in the form of being "Politically Active" or rather, politically fueled by things that can cause arguments. Democratic politics by nature are dominated by politics by numbers; the largest piece gets the power. As in American politics, only a select few can really decide policy, and thus insures the dominance of the few over the many, perpetuating the strong over the weak, vis a vis, Survival of the Fittest. Thus the paradox is revealed. Wait, Ryan, I thought that everyone gets a voice in democracy, where do you get off by saying that only a few people get policies passed and insure Survival of the Fittest? As it stands, the system in place is the electoral college, who have political conscience; In other words, even if a majority under that Electoral official votes yay, that member of the electoral college can vote nay, and thus perpetuate his own dominance. Politics is, at it's foundation, the definition of organization with resources, (money) laws, (either pertaining to or issuing fees in connection with money) and military issues (getting money to end your life or another for the political gain of territory( resources(money)) or power(control of people (human resources (human money))) This is the kicker, are you ready? The value of a wage is only given if a person relinquishes a part of his freedom to the person who makes the wage. Transitively wage is equal to a worthless item representing worth of time or assets which are the equivalent of freedom, Let's go to the algebra:
Time or assets=Freedom
(time or assets)random(X)M..Wage
X=whim of person with power
IF Service = 0, then M..0
Else M..Random(Service)
(time or assets)=service
Therefore:
first Service=Freedom
and then
Freedom(random(whim of person with power))(random (Freedom)=wage
This makes little to no sense to anyone who won't look at it with an open mind, but what this tells me is a wage is the amount of freedom one chooses to relinquish to the scrutiny of a person with the power who judges what your freedom is worth. it's being a willful slave to a person who is more powerful than you and as a result, a willful disregard for how much your freedom is worth to you. By extension, Politics is the controlled stripping of that freedom. By choosing a politician to make policy, one is asking someone of more important power to decide their freedom, making freedom bondable under any "Civilized" society.
So, why money? It is control over those who don't have any. So, how does this work? How do we as those under the system, get into a place that our sweat becomes our own bondage? I think it began with Og the caveman.
Og the cave man was a man who should've died at about 1000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000BCAbout During the Godknowswhen period. Og was a genetically inferior being and in accordance to evolutionary advancement, was about to be expunged from the genetic pool. Moki the Huge and Smelly was a contemporary of Og and was about to participate in the natural selection process, as a genetic material filter, with a big bloody club. See, Moki was the biggest caveman in the settlement and as a result, could take anyone's game as he willed by killing the person who had the game and taking it for himself. Og was no big and smelly either, for he had asthma and a club foot, so it was hard for moki to gain his kill. Moki was raising his club wen Og pathetically said "Wait, Moki, Hear me out!"
Moki stopped for a moment. His arm ached from the beatings from earlier and really was only gaining the game that Og had for a snack for the next day, so he listened. "Go on, weak and feeble one."
"I bet your arm is tired from beating the other cave men huh,"
"Indeed it is Og, in fact it is quite uncomfortable."
"tell you what, I love shiny pebbles from the creek over there. If you bring me a pebble, I will just give you the game I have."
Moki thought that this was a good alternative to working over this weakling for a piece of jerky, so he went to the creek and found a small pebble and gave it to Og. Og responded by handing the small game to Moki, just as was agreed.
The next day, the club was being raised, Og made the request for 1 pebble for his game. Moki took the offer and rested his clubbing hand for another day.
The next day came around, Og was vey hungry. Og had not eaten for two days now and the game he was getting that day was running faster than his slingshot could fire. Moki came around and said "Og, I brought you a pebble, give me your game"
Og knew that he would die if he admitted to not having any game, so as a distraction, he said "I don't like these rocks, I only want white rocks now." Knowing that white rocks were rare in the creek. This would keep big dumb Moki busy for at least 3 hours. Moki, to the surprise and shock of Og, found this new system to be kinder to his killing arm and thus went to look for a white pebble. Og, sllingshotted a few geese and came back. Moki paid one white shiney stone and went on his way with his snack geese.
The fourth day of this rolled around. Og was starving. Moki had returned with his usual request for Og's game. "I was looking for white stones in the creek. There are not any for me to give you."
Og replied "Here's what I'll do for you, If you go and kill an antelope for me, I'll give you four rocks that will have a scratch in them. These are just as good as white rocks. They have to have MY scratch in them for the trade to be good now, though. You get 1 antelope in exchange for four free meals.
Intrigued by the idea Moki goes off and kills an antelope for Og and returns. Og gives Moki four scratched rocks and, when Moki gives back one rock, Og gives Moki a piece of antelope, thus creating the first manager/employee relationship.
after Moki goes through those rocks, Og looks at Moki and says "Moki, The Item I want is far more rare now,"
"What is it" Moki said
"Teeth from other cave men" Og said
So, Moki ran arond beating up cavemen for teeth, all the while not seeing Og collect their game when they were dead. Moki gave Og the teeth and Og gave moki all the game that only a business week or two before, Moki could've got for free by doing the same thing he was doing. The difference is that Moki was now under the power of a crippled top man who convinced Moki that this system was beter.
One day, Moki ran out of people to take teeth from. "I want food Og" He said
Og replied "I want teeth"
Moki Replied "I don't have any"
Og said "What about yours?"
Moki, without hisitation hit himself in the face with his club, gave his own teeth to Og. Moki then during the course of a month, starves to death without the ability to chew the game he purchased, while Og sought out new areas to corporately expand. Thus beginning the struggle of the weak and powerful over the laborious and strong. Or maybe not, I don't know.
What I do know is that many of us have sold our teeth for a piece of meat. Many of us starve in our own participation in the system of clubbed footed asthmatic bosses and presidents who want power over us to do things that they can't do. I for one need metaphorical dentures many of an occasion.
So here's to you Og, for shifting survival of the fittest to the survival of the weakest and giving humanity the trait of decrepitude for eternity. Here's to evolution and what it has given mankind. Here's to natural selection turned on it's ear. Here's to God watching this unfold and asking for 10 percent of all I have every week, 10 percent of my power and freedom as an organism in this world. Here's to Og the caveman, may his ancestors be full, for the week he starved.
