My understanding is that money, in terms of coinage, was introduced because societies became more complex and the system of bartering was too clumsy and eventually totally impractical.
Now, rather than just being just a method of exchange, money has a value in itself - so people buy and sell currencies and gamble on certain financial events taking place or not taking place.
I think the way the financial system works is a mystery to most people - it's certainly a mystery to me - but even economists have very different ideas as to how the system should work or even how it does work.
In my view the problem is that so much energy is spent in producing products and services that, until they were marketed, we didn't think we needed. You only have to watch Dragon's Den to see that the majority of products and services presented by those seeking investment money are fairly pointless and/or merely "tweaking" in a fairly superficial way something that exists already.
In my opinion, we need a system which satisfies everybody's basic needs - enough food to stay healthy, clean water, somewhere to live, warmth, health and education.
Money is an artificial construct but the financial structures that have built up around it appears not to work for the majority of people in the world or for the natural environment on which all people ultimately depend. Instead, the majority of people work to maintain the construct without ever questioning if this is the best way to do things.
There are great skills in this country (and other countries) and people who are willing to work hard. We've seen this during the crisis - racing car engineers immediately turning their skills to making medical equipment, fashion designers switching their fashion lines to producing protective clothing for health workers, etc, etc. I think people are basically altruistic and want to work for the good of society - just look at the number of people who have volunteered during this crisis - not for money but because they want to do something useful. But our finance system distorts that generosity of spirit and drive and turns it into a dog eat dog competition.
It has already been shown that the notion of debt is also an artificial construct. We were told we could not possibly give money to the NHS because the money was just not there. Now - on top of the huge amounts of money offered to businesses and employees during this crisis - the government has stated it will write off the entire debt that has built up over the last few years. At the press of a button, it is wiped out. It is all about who decides what the priorities are and who benefits from setting those priorities.
