Seeing The Money Game Clearly
Why money can feel so charged
“Some people are so poor, all they have is money.” - Bob Marley
Most of us have a complicated relationship with money, and there is wisdom in our pause. It is deeply unnerving to play a rigged game. We can feel the dissonance of this system design, despite our best attempts to rationalize why and how things are the way they are...even when we stand to benefit tremendously from the current game.
If we are sincere in our interest to heal our relationship with money, we need to have our wits about us and be willing to see how money is currently being used. Are you ready? It’s a choice, and should you choose to walk through this door, there’s no turning back…
Our current system is extraordinarily out of balance, as it has been designed to incentivize the pursuit of self-interest above all else and accrue more "success" to the "successful". It has been designed to keep us in the constant pursuit of more, never arriving at the peace of enough. In the system, we (are taught to) behave like ravenous children with eyes larger than our stomachs; the compulsion is so strong we can’t help but stuff ourselves until we hit the natural limits of our stomachs. Then boom! We’ve gone from lack to excess, as we buckle in discomfort and shame ourselves for over-indulging.
The lack-to-excess spectrum is where most of us (have been taught to) live. The majority dwells in lack, the minority in excess, but at the extremes, there are more similarities in experience than differences. There is pain. There is scarcity. There is a fantasy about how life would be different “if only.” These dynamics create a kind of collective trance state, which keeps the status quo alive and well.
Our current system externalizes power. It teaches us that power must be earned (or in some cases taken), used, and feared. It teaches us that power is about how we stack up against others. Money is one of the system’s most effective henchmen in reinforcing false hierarchies and judgments about who and what is valuable. For one, money is essentially everywhere; it connects nearly every human being on the planet. By putting an explicit price on things, money simplifies comparison. More is better, so it naturally follows that people with more money are “better”. Money also carries the allure of being the answer to our suffering, and since the vast majority will never have enough of it, it keeps us in pursuit of that dream. It just might be the most brilliant distraction of our time!
Money isn't neutral in its effect; it has been coopted to reinforce what is false. Money creates mistaken ideas about the purpose, worth, and value of human life. It feeds the false narrative that some are inherently more special, more valuable, than others and should be treated as such. It feeds the false narrative that human beings have dominion over Nature. It separates us from the natural ecosystems that enable life on this planet and creates the illusion that we can extract from them ad infinitum without consequence.
You might be thinking, if this is all true, then how and why do we permit this? The genius of the design is that it makes our circumstances personal. The system says, “this is a meritocracy; hustle harder!” It warns, “protect and claim what is yours.” It whispers, “no pain, no gain.” It jeers, “must be nice to be the other guy.” In other words, we earned it…or we didn’t. When we believe that we are the problem, it makes us susceptible to being controlled and even to controlling others if we find ourselves in positions of authority.
Our indoctrination starts in early childhood and is delivered through the repetition of money-based threats and rewards throughout our lives. Its messengers are our loving caregivers, mentors, media, schools, cultural icons, and corporations. Before long, we find ourselves indoctrinating the next generation to ensure that they too can enjoy a “good life”. It can be painful to see this; we may feel duped and even betrayed by those who are supposed to love and protect us. But there is no blame to assign here; this is simply about seeing the system as it is.
Some will say that humans are inherently greedy and our system merely reflects human nature, but that is a popular cultural myth that lacks evidence and protects the status quo. What we do know, however, is that human behavior is highly responsive to incentives, and the incentive system that underlies our global financial system is one that encourages greed, dominance, and fear. It’s no wonder that despite our incredible material fortune in the Western world, we are seeing staggering and increasing rates of mental health crises, especially in young people.
"Healthy wealthy" does not exist, but "healthy poor" and "healthy middle class" don't exist either. Paradoxically, true health has nothing to do with money and everything to do with money. Money isn’t inherently compromised; it’s just being used in a particular way, and it will use us if we don’t see its imprint clearly. Together we have the opportunity to reclaim money as a gift and restore it to its true potential: as a tool to create a thriving life.
I have tremendous respect for money: what it has been, what it is today, and what it can become. We have a role to play in money’s unfolding, should we choose to accept it. Let’s find our way back to balance—back to a thriving life for ourselves and all beings.