The video above is embedded not in support or against the return of a gold standard, but because it helps highlight a very important concept – “money” is not value.
If you believe it is, I want you to repeat the following with me.
Money is not value.
Money is not value.
Money is not value.
“Money” is, at best in the 21st century, a common medium of exchange (a representation of value). It does not actually have any inherent value, other than perhaps as toilet paper, emergency fuel for a fire, or a paper airplane/paper hornet.
Why is this important to understand?
Well, I hear it expressed often enough (mostly in person, but on this blog from time to time as well), that people want to “make money”.
This counterfeiting operation is actually reserved for criminals, and your respective, benevolent masters in government around the world (as if there were a legitimate difference at this point).
What you should instead be focusing on is making something of actual value that (hopefully) translates into currency over time, and when necessary.
This is timeless.
Timeless because what you are creating has inherent value relative to the needs and desires of others willing to trade for it.
People don’t need money.
The only reason people are willing to trade for it at present is because it is such a commonly accepted medium of exchange – it’s convenient. What you actually need (or think you need), are the things you are trading the money for.
“There’s no difference there Anthony”
Actually, there is a massive difference here. If you spend your time chasing and attempting to hoard as much “money” as possible, the fruit of your labor (indeed, the entire foundation behind it) is dependent on a currency that can be easily manipulated by monopolies on force – what we gently call “government”.
This is a very dangerous rat race to get caught up in at any point in recent time, let alone now.
Why hoard XX,000 colored pieces of paper (more accurately, ones and zeroes on a computer somewhere) when you instead could use that currency to build life experience, see the world, fine tune a particular skill set, jump start an entirely new skill set, or invest in something more stable than fiat money.
Point being, spending 6 months and XXX dollars with the best martial arts/self defense trainer in your area is probably going to serve you the rest of your life a lot better than watching your fiat money dwindle into nothing.
Likewise, spending a few weekends learning how to use a firearm is going to serve you the rest of your life a lot better than XXX dollars dwindling into nothing.
The same applies for traveling just about anywhere – it’s insanely cheap in the 21st century, and about 100x easier than most think.
And what about tangible items?
Well, a firearm and accompanying ammunition is going to serve you well for a long, long time, assuming you have the ability to purchase such items.
The same applies for other camping, hiking, hunting, and utility items.
Or items of many other hobbies for that matter, like coin and book collecting.
Point Being
If you step back from the looking glass far enough, fiat currencies come and go like the weather. The current world reserve currency (the USD) is currently pegged to somewhere between 100 and 200 trillion dollars of debt and unfunded liabilities.
I don’t know what’s more bizarre, the numbers themselves, or the fact that the range is actually that big.
Does it even matter?
Probably not, because it’s a cruel joke at best to think that a currency that deeply in “debt” (I think we need a new word for debt to this degree, maybe debtocaust?), will ever recover – or do anything but burn up for that matter.
With that said, I think it’s very unwise to focus on “making money”. Instead you should be focusing on creating that which actually has value, and then monetizing it when required or desired.
Even more unwise though, at least in 2010, is the hoarding of fiat money, for any reason.
Especially a “rainy day”, since the irony is, the real rainy day is when that “rainy day money” can’t buy anything.
Then what?
Good question.
Not to mention, unless you live in a part of the world completely immune to natural disasters, you never know when you’re going to need some spare food, spare toilet paper, a good knife, a loaded gun, and the training to use these items effectively (granted, a weekend long course for effective toilet paper use is, hopefully, pretty unnecessary).
-Anthony/Dream
My view on money is we don’t need as much as people think to be happy, but we still need some money to have essential need met. Only time money makes people happy is when you are in poverty. only then does money really make you happier (it takes you out of poverty). But these people striving for financial freedom thinking that on day this major goal will make them happy is completely wrong. they been fooled into thinking this.
I agree fully people should focus on creating value, following their passion, work hard, and the money will come.
Money brings security, after that everything that makes us happy is moneyless.
Government fiat has no intrinsic value, but money as such is a value,
Money represents value. In the case of the US dollar, it represents the promise to tax you and your posterity at the barrel of a gun. It is literally an immoral, debt based currency.
Im glad to see your putting this out there and informing people about it. I dont think too much of the general public know about this or whats really going on with the currency and money system. I have a good understanding from being a part of the Zeitgeist Movement, and am still working on fully grasping and understanding it and maybe even helping to come up with a better solution.
Im currently working a job I dont care for too much, but am currently working on making more money doing online gambling, which a wing of mine got me into, and was able to finance his business and his quitting his job. I haven’t quite made it that far yet, but It seems at first I was trying to make a lot of money, and go about it any way possible, which I think is why I tried working with Amway, then quit it after I had lots of issues with it. Now I am making money so I can follow my passion, train in MMA, quit my job, do whatever I want pretty much. I’ve been working on it for a few years and working really hard so I can make it to the 21 Convention and better my life.
Im looking into a few other ways I could make money on the side but from what I see, online poker is one of best ways. I’ve tried starting a few blogs, websites, looking for online freelancing work but most of those methods have been fruitless.
I do think people can use way less of it, but have illusions or even delusions with money, thinking it will cause them happiness or make all their problems go away. Im not so naive that I believe that but it can make some things easier.
The Zeitgeist Movement is moving towards a total reform or even questioning the idea of an economy. I know you personally don’t agree with the movement but still have a lot of belief in it myself.
The Zeitgeist movement represents 21st century communist ideology. I’d be extremely cautious working with them in any way.
From my understanding of the movement, it’s about eliminating the need for money, government, and even labor through eventual full-on automation. It’s considered a resource based economy where everyone gets to eat, have housing, and access to the world, essentially, without a price tag or being forced to serve/labor for those necessities and luxuries.
Not so sure about the movement overall, but it’s better then what we have now by far.
Thats called the elimination of wealth. It’s the same thing Karl Marx was preaching in the 19th century. It is the anti-thesis to the natural rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness – and individualism for that matter.
Zeitgeist is merely the 21st century adaptation of this philosophy. The fact that it’s caught as much attention as it has is both worrisome and a reflection of the moral collapse/reawakening society is on the brink of.
Well the accumulation of wealth has only come about due to the scarcity of goods. Technically the majority of people, including yourself, would live a life that would in this world be considered far more luxurious if the Venus Project actually came to fruition. (mostly due to the tech)
But I personally don’t trust the movement, though I see the merits of it. I’d question their ability to rationalize any better then today’s government. And I don’t know if things like the freedom to choose one’s diet would become an issue. In fact I could see many freedoms being taken away if the movement comes about.
I just find the things they say they can build fascinating. I mean a monorail that could take you to China in a couple hours, cities on the sea, the use of solar energy, geothermal, wind, etc…
The technology behind the movement is what’s impressive.
Question on the “money is not value” thing: Is it really possible that money could no longer be a form of exchange as in worth nothing at all? Wouldn’t the government allowing that to happen be complete suicide?
“Technically the majority of people, including yourself, would live a life that would in this world be considered far more luxurious if the Venus Project actually came to fruition.”
No, we wouldn’t. That’s the point. These intentions are positive, but fundamentally misguided, and evil. If they ever came to fruition we would be living in hell on Earth. Remember the saying “The road to hell is paved with good intentions” when you hear nonsense like this.
“Wouldn’t the government allowing that to happen be complete suicide?”
This question is extremely flawed. I suggest having a look around http://mises.org/
“No, we wouldn’t. That’s the point. These intentions are positive, but fundamentally misguided, and evil. If they ever came to fruition we would be living in hell on Earth. Remember the saying “The road to hell is paved with good intentions” when you hear nonsense like this.”
What I meant when I said “technically the majority of people would live a life far more luxurious” is; no working 8 hours a days, no starvation, no homelessness, no lack of education, no lack of seeing the world due to limited funds. The chance to work on whatever creative endeavors you so choose. No restrictions by law, etc, etc……
Those things sound great, but amount to a utopia of pain and misery.
How? What pain, what misery?
See “Soviet Union”
“While communism is a much more humane social system than what we have today, we feel it does differ considerably from the direction we advocate. While Marx offered a bold new direction in his time, it falls far short of what can be accomplished with today’s technology applied with human and environmental concern.
The Venus Project offers science and technology in the service of humankind on a global scale and eventually helps to eliminate all the artificial boundaries that separate people. The system uses no money and makes goods and services available without a price tag, debt, barter, or servitude of any kind. If we use our technology intelligently, we can create an abundance of goods and services for the entire planet. We use machines and automation to produce and distribute all manufactured products, which will be available at distribution centers to everyone. The purpose of this high technology is to free people so they can pursue their own interests and fulfillments.
We would surpass the need for human participation in the production of goods and services. There is no taxation or obligation of any kind. We advocate no government by human systems. They have always proved inadequate. Computerized systems and cybernetics would be applied to the social system and must comply with the carrying capacity of our global resources. The machines’ main purpose is for the manufacturing and distribution of goods and services while maintaining a clean environment with service to all and profits to none. When people have access to resources, most crimes will disappear. The need for police, military, and prisons will eventually vanish with it. Of course this will coincide with the necessary changes in education. I hope this helps to clarify some points. We realize this is a simplified description of how it differs from communism.”
Again, I don’t know what pain and misery you’re talking about. You’re just mentioning the pain and misery of previously existing systems and current systems.
Dream,
Awesome foundation man. Many of us “waste” money away by purchasing services (cable, movies) that have no value after the shock wears off. Experiences do so much more than stimulate our senses. They (hopefully) transform our values and alter our lives in a more positive way.
In my experience traveling has been my mode of self improvement. It takes a lot of confidence to push past your comfort zone, but it takes even more to push beyond that comfort zone. Traveling (expecially to another country) forces me to do this.
Plus experiencing something awesome or learning a new skill is way f*cking cooler than dumping money into a monthly bill or saving it for a rainy day. I like to think of what I am going to talk about when I’m old. I can say with 100% confidence that saving for retirement or paying bills will not be a topic of discussion. Guns and being awesome will dominate the conversation.
Thanks for thinking the way you do
Ryan
Back at your man, your blog is solid.
Anthony,
I think everyone is missing your greater point that money only has value if it is an agreed upon medium of exchange. The US Dollar is devaluing at a rate where people will soon not recognize it as a valid medium of exchange. Value is what you are trying to earn…how you store it depends on the circumstance. At the current time any USD are probably best spent as quickly as possible on ANY durable good or acquirable skill. At this point holding value in the USD even as long as a day can reperesent a real loss.
Regardless of how you store or spend value, we should always remember that standard of living and quality of life are NOT the same thing. They are related, but their relationship is not even close to linear. Furthermore, if standard of living is acquired by unearned means (see lottery winners, NFL stars, entertainers) it has a strongly negative correlate with quality of life.
Just my rapidly devalued 2 cents.
“At this point holding value in the USD even as long as a day can reperesent a real loss.”
I could not agree more =/. Rough times are ahead. I hope you and your family stay safe up in SC.
Btw, I about fell out of my chair laughing at your closing 2 cent comment. Consider it stolen =).
You speak the truth brother
Anthony I see that you obviously read Robert Kyosaki’s books.
Most of the same ideas that you’re writing here are communicated there, especially “Conspiracy Of The Rich”.
-Alex Allmert
Never read anything by him. I know he wrote Rich Dad Poor Dad though.
Read plenty of Arthur Jones though, and listened to a bit of Eban’s work.
Btw, Arthur did not invest the “bowflex” machine. He started and sold Nautilus long before they started making all the current crap they do.
Thanks for correcting me.
How did you learn that money isn’t value, most people don’t even accept that.
Steady self education. Campaignforliberty.com and mises.org are a great start, but don’t stop there. Any video of Ron Paul or Ayn Rand or Milton Friedman is good too.