Money Is The Root Of...
After reading “Francisco’s Money Speech” I was able to gain knowledge on Ayn Rand’s response to Francisco d’Anconia’s claim, “So you think money is the root of all evil?” (Rand 2002). Rand’s reaction back to Francisco was “Have you ever asked what is the root of money?” (Rand 2002). What I took away from Rand was her perspective on the function of the mind of a man and how they believe money is the root of evil. Rand goes against this by arguing that money is not the root of evil, but rather that it is a tool of exchange between individuals.
There are many arguments that Rand includes, however, one that stuck out to me was
“But money is only a tool. It will take you wherever you wish, but it will not replace you as the driver. It will give you the means for the satisfaction of your desires, but it will not provide you with desires. Money is the scourge of the men who attempt to reverse the law of causality–the men who seek to replace the mind by seizing the products of the mind” (Rand 2002).
To me, this quote demonstrated how money can and is used to promote happiness and satisfy needs, but it cannot replace the human mind and the values it holds. I view her quote meaning it is as individuals who believe that money can buy happiness, that money is the final answer to all problems and conflicts, and that money is a substitute for all those who attempt to ignore their values and beliefs in favor of materialistic gains.
Is Money Value?
At the beginning of The Price Is Right it had shown me that it is not money that has value, however, it is the exchange of goods or services that have value and how much we are willing to put a price on something if we believe it is worth its cost or carries the amount of value that satisfies our needs.
For example, right now we are in inflation and prices may not be desirable to most now. I love Red Bull however, the other day I stopped at a local Valero and purchased a Red Bull. Since inflation a singular sugar-free 12 oz. Red Bull has gone up by $2 making the total after-tax around $4.11. Some might think that $4.11 is way too much yet, I value the Red Bull so much that I am willing to make a trade of $4.11 for one drink just to satisfy my needs at that moment.
Later on in the chapter, I gained acknowledgment that Entrepreneurs are not always focused on their wants and needs and that they have to satisfy the needs of others to become successful and have a long-term business. Also, to be a successful long-term Entrepreneur I feel like you also have to keep up with the industry making products or services that will fix the problems of others not getting the total satisfaction they are wanting.
” The result is an established “price” that, because it incorporates all of the involved individuals’ valuations at that moment, reflects the joint subjective valuation of apples with respect to the subjective valuation of money—for both buyers and sellers” (Bylund 2016).
After all, I see the price of a good sort of portraying a domino effect. To explain more on that, the moral of the chapter was talking about the exchanges of a can of Coke and an Apple between Adam and Adele and later on they include other people trading other goods like a dozen nails and a loaf of bread. In the chapter, Bylund explains how Adele might value the apple over the can of Coke and how Adam and her will make a trade because one values one more than the other but they both see the value they will get out of trading for both of them. The price of a good is a repeated thing. It is all about trade and with a trade I see it as a domino effect without trade there would be no value of products and without the value of products, there would be no value in trading money for those goods to satisfy one's needs.
The price of the good has more to do with the process and the exchange of that good.
Stable Money
After reading “The Meaning of Stable Money” I saw that it adds to Bylund’s reading and how the value of money goes beyond the value of a dollar and how a value for a dollar means almost nothing, its what you can get in exchange for that dollar for it to mean something and have value.
From my understanding it was noted how gold and silver were tied to a certain product and provided it with a stable and predictable value, making it easier to utilize as a medium of trade and a store of value.
“Money was deprived of what made it money” (Tamny, 2022, p.40).
However, this quote describes the loss of the anchoring mechanism has devalued money significantly, making it less trustworthy and stable. This may add to too many people's misunderstanding and concern about money and its role in the economy. However, nowadays some may abuse money and its use of it. When I say abuse money I mean trading it in for things that may not be necessary, however again even though it might not be necessary to myself or others, it all comes back down to the value it holds to that person who is willing to make an exchange for it.
Conclusion
In these articles, I have learned and realized that a dollar's value goes beyond the value of a single dollar to what someone else may exchange for it to have significance and value. In addition, I learned that money is not the source of all evil, but rather a means for exchanging goods and services. From these sources, I also gained the importance of trade to an Entrepreneur. The trade of goods and services is the basis of our economy and our money.
References
Rand, A. (2020, April 13). "Francisco's money speech" by Ayn Rand. Capitalism Magazine. Retrieved February 24, 2023, from https://www.capitalismmagazine.com/2002/08/franciscos-money-speech/Links to an external site.
Bylund, P. L. (2016). Chapter 2: The Price Is Right. In Seen, the unseen, and the unrealized: How regulations affect our everyday lives (pp. 15–26). essay, Lexington Books.
Tamny, J. (2022). Chapter 2: The Meaning of Stable Money. In The money confusion: How illiteracy about currencies and inflation sets the stage for the Crypto Revolution (pp. 29–41). essay, All Seasons Press.