A student asked me the following question: “Money, sex, and power are the gods that move our world today. Why does this happen and what will change it?”
Here is my answer: First, our makeup is a desire to receive pleasure; this is our “substance,” what we are made of. We use everything at our disposal and try to satisfy our desire to receive pleasure however we can. If a certain trait or skill gives us more satisfaction, we appreciate it accordingly.
Of the three “gods” you mentioned, money has a special place in our desire to receive. We use it for everything. It connects us, but those who have a lot of it use it in corrupt and manipulative ways to gain power.
This wasn’t always so. Previously, money reflected one’s efforts. The harder one worked, the more one gained. Today, however, that connection no longer exists, as money itself is manipulated. And because money does not reflect our efforts, we cannot use it to compare people and value them.
For this reason, I believe that in the future, we will live in a world without money. We will use a completely different yardstick to evaluate people, and that gauge will be a social one. The more one exerts in building the society, increasing solidarity and mutual responsibility among its members, the higher will be that person’s value.
Although we are not there yet, the coronavirus pandemic is already transforming the world and we are entering that new reality. We will begin to discover new forces that will help us connect and become more accountable and caring for each other. Moreover, we will realize that by helping others, we are actually helping ourselves.
The pandemic has proven that we are all connected and influence one another; we cannot leave any part of the world unattended since it will spoil the rest of the world. We have become completely globalized, a global village whose every part supports and is supported by every other part.
On the one hand, it is beautiful that we have become “one family.” On the other hand, our global family is fraught with enmity and ill-will. We do not treat each other like family but like enemies. This is why we use money in such corrupt manners.
Nevertheless, we are dependent on each other and don’t realize that hurting others ends up hurting us. The sooner we realize that if we want a good life, we must guarantee that everyone has a good life, the better it is for all of us.
This truth is a relatively new realization, and not many people have fully grasped its implications. The more people know about it and accept that this is today’s reality, the easier will be our transition from an individualistic mindset to a more inclusive one, which takes into account the needs of all of society as a requisite to guarantee our personal well-being.