We’ve been told that money represents wealth, with power as a sort of side-benefit of having it. We’ve been told that wealth is comprised of the real things that money represents. Money is a stand-in for these objects that are worth something for their usefulness or desirability. The barter analogy is often used to make this connection.
But that’s not true. In our system, money is a direct representation of power, w the tangible items it brings as a side benefit. Each $ is a unit of power, & the more you have, the more power you have.
There are other forms of power in competition with, or exchangeable for, money. Labor is one of these—also things like status, fame, authority, force, & manipulation.
Examples: When someone has enough money to hire you, they have the power to control a large portion of your time. That’s power, not wealth. When you have enough money to exchange for food, that’s the power to eat, not the wealth of ownership of food.
[edit: 🧵]
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