I Can't Seem to Find Any Money

I am sure that most of my readers have lists of things they would do, places they would visit, the food they would eat and clothes they would buy if they had more money. I know that I definitely have thought about these things. But the very thought of wanting to have more of something begs the question of what would happen if it did not exist at all. Many economists will tell you that money is the symbol of a progressive society. And that without it everything would simply collapse. 

But what if the opposite happened? What if instead of collapsing, we’d simply start rising above excessive greed and unnecessary wants. 

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If money stopped existing, companies would only produce the number of commodities that are needed. Not only would this help in reducing greenhouse effects but also humongous amounts of waste that are ultimately released into the water bodies. Instead of trying to come up with products that help people amass wealth perhaps innovation would take place to help others and be kinder towards each other. 

Perhaps parents would stop pushing their children to enter fields that they consider prestigious when it’s clear that the only thing that makes those fields prestigious is their guarantee of financial stability. According to a Times of India article, one student becomes the victim of suicide every hour. While no one can claim that all of these deaths are due to extreme pressure, it is evident that most of them are. 

If money stopped existing we could save these lives. And we could save the lives of Vidarbha farmers who became victims of suicide because they couldn’t repay their debts.  And save the lives of hundreds of women who are tortured for dowry. 

If it didn’t exist then perhaps people in power would actually work towards bettering the society rather than resorting to corruption. 

If money stopped existing, we would finally start looking for things that we truly derive satisfaction and happiness from. I am sure that many will start looking at life through the lens of art - we’d paint more and draw more, read more poems and write more letters, we’d sing and dance more without worrying about our bank balance. 

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If money never existed, Raju from 3 Idiots wouldn’t have had to jump from the window and Farhan would not have spent four years of his life questioning his self-worth. Perhaps not the most drastic thing to happen if money stopped existing, but it is after all one of my favourite movies and hence, deserves a mention. 

But most importantly, I think we’d extend a helping hand more often. Instead of pushing the person next to us to get on the train or the bus because we are late for the office and might lose some money, we’d offer them a seat. Instead of buying things that we don’t need or simply need to let people know about our status symbol - an expensive phone, a car worth millions, clothes from luxury brands - we’d perhaps focus more on saving the earth from climate changes, on nurturing our mental and physical health, on being a better human being. 

And when I think about it all, perhaps it is not money that needs to stop existing but simply our greed for it.