The Plant’s Money
money
[ muhn-ee ]
any article or substance used as a medium of exchange, measure of wealth, or means of payment, as checks on demand deposit or cowrie.
— Dictionary.com
I miss writing…so I will start writing a long disclaimer/ rant/ excuse…
It’s been more than a month (and counting) since I last published an article on this blog. It is still very busy at work and with other social commitments, I didn’t find open windows to put in some writing. Not because I don’t have time. I can’t say that after writing the post on time. But, even if I could find some gaps in my schedule, for me, writing needs a particular headspace. Or so I think. Once the wheels start spinning, the momentum keeps my fingers over the keyboard.
I have two drafts on my blog. As in I wrote the titles to help me remember the topics I want to explore. The ‘Plant’s money’ and ‘Plant’s politics’ are twp of the next issues I would like to analyze. I have read a book to better understand how the economy works. The book is “Good economics for hard times” by Nobel Prize winners Abhijit V. Banerjee and Esther Esther Duflo. I tried to go from ignorant to having a slight idea about the mechanisms of the economy. I considered it useful, especially in these hard times of pandemic. I’m still far away from understanding enough to write a thoughtful essay. And even more unqualified to find mirrors in the world of the plants. The only thing that became clear to me is that economics and politics are deeply intertwined. So my two drafts are daunting on my ignorance and make me procrastinate writing. But they somewhat merge into one piece.
Coming back to writing after one month, made me start slow. Like an athlete that took a break due to an injury and doesn’t want to strain the muscles. I am in the same way protective of my creative writing. Haha. I should come down from the pretend of an actual gifted writer and put in the work as a plant would do.
So I decided to jump into the plant’s money topic after this long disclaimer. So bear with me and please guide me in the comments so I can do more justice to this important theme, at a second coming.
Here it goes…
What is money?
Although the main thing I want to unpack in this blogpost is the economy, I chose to use the definition of money. Once, because the economy seems out of everyone’s control, although it is not, as we will see. And second, because people have more interest in money.
As the definition says, money is a medium of exchange for products or services. Money can be as coins, banknotes or digital (cards). On itself, money is worthless. The banknotes are not harvested from natural ores or grown in fields, they get printed. We all globally agree on the value of the money and turn an abstract concept into a concrete thing. It’s a bit mind-boggling that we are in a race for getting as much money as we can while knowing that it is a man-made concept.
The economic crisis in Venezuela, fueled by political wars inside the country and an economy based solely on oil, led to rendering the state’s currency worthless. If the value of the money is not agreed on anymore, it becomes useless to the people.
People have been trading goods and services since societies have formed. The trades were very subjective, and the value of any products was repaid in things or services of equal value. But the current system is not that far from this. The only difference is that we have a medium for the exchange that we can use for getting the things we need.
In the past trades, the value of the items exchanged was also subjective and abstract. The traders had to agree on the worth of the things to complete the deal. If both traders agreed that the goat is worth the sack of potatoes, the transaction completed. Both going away satisfied. Same happens now, with the only difference of everybody agreeing on the value of the respective currency. Although the currency is more abstract than other trade items, the bargain faded in the current economic system. Before money, you had to produce some goods or services to gain other things. Nowadays, money makes it possible to create nothing (in a palpable sense) and still get something. That is because you are actually selling time to jobs that pay you, and then you use the money for further acquisitions and deals.
That is why money became so important in everyone’s life. Money can cover a spectrum of needs from subsistence to luxury items that can improve one’s lifestyle. The income has become a social status, and in every small chit-chat, the money is a topic, at one point. Everything revolves around this abstract concept we have invented.
It seems to me that self-sufficiency dramatically decreases with the growing importance of money in a household. My grandparents retired before my first memories of my childhood. I always knew them only occupied with house chores, growing vegetables and fruits (not commercially) and taking care of the animals around the household. They were entirely self-sufficient in my view, although what I was not seeing was the pension that they got every month. Their pensions were not high, and they were not growing vegetables because they didn’t afford to buy them. It was a way of living where money seemed a little bit less critical. That way of life is less present in my home country, and the same trend is in the developing world. Trying to meet one’s needs through growing food or building/repairing things is more of a hobby than a daily occupation. There are the farmers who turned the food production into a full-time occupation, but they still chase the money at the end of the day. They produce in excess for commercial purposes and usually focus on a few candidate cost-effective crops. They grow food but have to own money to meet their own consumption needs.
When everything comes from other people or companies, then the money is the only medium that can help you buy the things you need. Thus, everybody aims to get as much as they can in their economic, social and political context to provide for their family and have a secured future.
Although money’s value (and importance) is globally agreed, it still has different values. A currency like the Euro can have the same strength all over the EU, but if you buy a coffee in Copenhagen and one in Malaga, the prices will differ. It is not because of the beans or the climate, but because the work (brewing, serving, cleaning, etc.) is differently valued in the respective society. A barista might earn more in Denmark than in Spain. So this fact influences the prices.
Money also created a lot of inequality. A small percentage of the population has more than a large part of the world. Earning more also increases consumption, which powers the capitalistic economy. The rule of supply and demand is as old as human society. Still, the significant change is that the market is not only for surviving but goes beyond the essentials. And the things we want or long for are actually stories we create in our heads to convince ourselves that we need to have them. They are, in most cases, irrational investments that do not improve our lives as much as we think they are.
Although we live in this interconnected world, we are very detached from our actions and the ripple effects they have globally. We think that buying a new t-shirt because it looks good will create no harm. Still, in reality, it fuels a monster of inequality, suffering and undignified work. That’s not to say we should stop buying things. But being more mindful how we contribute to a complex system would help us steer our actions.
It’s challenging to keep a bird’s eye over the importance of money in your own life. I am privileged to get involved in exciting projects from which I earn comfortably for my lifestyle and still manage to save almost every month. But my consumption went up compared with when I was struggling during my PhD, borrowing money from my family. I sometimes acknowledge that some product acquisitions are past my storyline of meeting the needs. They are, in fact, becoming luxury items. New sets of tires for my bike because it fits better the terrain might seem like a sensible buy, but in fact, it is a fad.
I’m happy with my job, and I look forward to getting up and (after all my long morning ritual) to get to work. But what makes me happy at the present moment is writing on this blog, biking outdoors and enjoying nature. If I (could) exchange my job that pays the bills and my fads with these hobbies, I would do it. And, in all its earnest, I could do this switch if I was more courageous, proactive and committed. But I don’t. Because the monthly income is security for my current lifestyle. It’s too much of a risk. So much so, that I am willing to trade in my happiness. And I am not alone in this trade.
But like me, many are afraid of uncertainty, afraid to break the in-depth rules of society. We are slaves of the money without searching beneath what we honestly want. Most long for their retirement when they will do all the things they wished they had time to do. We are chasing money in our prime to supposedly live the life we always wanted in our aged bodies and minds. This is such a strange concept if you think about it. Almost nobody will contradict you. Still, it is the norm.
We are slaves to money, and there is no way to freedom.
The entire story published here: https://www.phytosopher.com/blog/the-plants-money
Phytosophy is an anthology of thought experiments that explore the intrinsic human condition through the lenses of the plants.
Are plants courageous, lazy, or humble? Do they procrastinate, cheat or sacrifice? What lessons can we learn from the nature in order to make our lives more meaningful?
