In our society we can no longer do without money. Money has traditionally been a medium of exchange. With money you can buy things and services and do things that are important to you. By spending money you make conscious and perhaps even unconscious choices. These are personal choices. What do you choose? And what value do you express? Which personal values do you consider important? Is it about status, security or creativity for you? If you look at money like that, it’s about ethics. Ethics searches for the good. What is good to do and which personal values play a role in this?
Personal values
Every person has a different approach to life. Every person also has different values that he or she finds important. The values that someone upholds determine what someone finds important. There are many different values. Some important values include altruism, ambition, authenticity, creativity, compassion, service, honesty, happiness, enjoyment, integrity, love, loyalty, courage, humility, respect, beauty and wisdom. Every person makes their own choices in terms of their values. These choices are partly determined by how someone lives and what he or she has experienced. Based on central personal values, people choose to do one thing and not do another.
Personal values and choices in dealing with money
Every person finds different values important. Choices are made based on those values, including the choice of how to deal with money. How do you manage your money well? That is an ethical question. Ethics searches for the good. It is also a question that you can only answer personally. Because how you handle your money well has to do with what you find important.
Money gathered with sweat
is squandered with reproach, or kept with fear, or missed with sorrow.
Spanish poem translated by H. de Vries.
Money as a basis for subsistence
In our society you need money to live. Money is needed to buy food and to afford a roof over your head. Without money it is barely possible to survive in our Western society. Money is necessary for basic needs such as living space, warmth, food and drinks. These basic needs are at the bottom of Maslow’s Pyramid of Needs. These basic needs must be met first before other values and needs can be addressed.
Money as a form of security
Having money offers a form of security. Many people save to have some money on hand in difficult financial times. A high bank balance offers a form of security. People who seek security in their money will not bet their money on uncertain shares, where past results do not provide certainty for the future. If security is an important value for you, you probably leave your money in the savings account, even if the interest rate is still so low.
Money as a form of recognition
Money expresses recognition to a certain extent. The better you get paid for something you do, the greater the recognition you receive. It doesn’t feel good when people tell you they appreciate your services, but don’t want to pay for them. There is then a discrepancy between the service that is offered and the value it has expressed in money. For example: you play in a music band. The band is asked if they would like to play at a wedding party. After heavy negotiations about the price, a deal is ultimately made that is actually substandard for the band, but they still choose to perform, because it is extra advertising. After the party everyone is very enthusiastic: What a good band! What beautiful music and a fantastic atmosphere you have created. The client is also very grateful to the band: Great, thanks to you it became an unforgettable evening. Unfortunately, the payment remains substandard. And that is grating. Financially, insufficient recognition is provided. The American writer and actress Jacqueline Susann put it succinctly: ‘Money is applause’.
Money as an expression of love
Money and love seem like two opposite values. Love is about warmth and affection in a human relationship and when you think of money you are more likely to think of hard currency. Yet money can express love. This way, parents can give money to children. By giving a financial gift they express their love for their children. You can also help others with money. Just think of the many charities that repeatedly appeal to our generosity. Financial assistance is a form of charity, literally an act of love.
Money stimulates the value of creativity
Money can stimulate people’s creativity. If creativity is rewarded financially, it offers the opportunity for more room for new creativity. If a writer has written a book and it sells well, the proceeds can be used to write a new book. This also applies to other creative professions. By financing artists, painters, writers, musicians and dancers they can continue to develop their creativity. Creativity can be financed through market forces. Money is then a form of recognition for the work that the artists create. The better the work, the more money they receive for it. The government can also stimulate creativity by funding it. This makes it possible to finance artists who have not yet been established.
Money as a tool in social choices
If you disagree with something, you can of course protest and demonstrate. You can make your voice heard clearly on a barricade, but the question is whether that is really that effective. Some say the real choices are made with the wallet. For example, if animal welfare is an important value for you, you can demonstrate against factory farming. It is also possible to make your choices in the supermarket. Do you buy the cheap kilo banger? Or do you go for the expensive organic product from the local livestock farmer? By spending your money critically you make it clear which social values are important to you.
Money as a means to power
A Chinese proverb says: ‘People with money are always listened to’. People with money are listened to. They are watched and followed. Having followers on social media is a form of power. You can even buy followers. People who wear a smart suit and drive up in a beautiful car are often taken more seriously than someone who comes cycling in their jeans. We often associate an expensive car and ditto suit with success, lots of money and power. The Roman poet Juvenal already concluded a century before our era: ‘As much money a person has in his coffers, he enjoys that much confidence, that much influence he has’.
Money to pursue the value of freedom
‘Only if you have money is freedom not expensive’. The Small Orchestra sang this text in the 1980s in their song entitled ‘The Wall’. With money you have more freedom than without money. If you have money you can make choices. If you have little or no money, you have to make do with what is available. “Money is coined freedom,” said the Russian writer Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Money as a source of evil
Money is the root of all evil. The source of this statement is often referred to the Bible, but you cannot find this statement there. So it is not in the Bible. There is a statement in the Bible that is very similar to this. In the First Letter to Timothy chapter 6 verse 10 the apostle Paul writes: The love of money is the root of all evil. The love of money is completely different from money. You can pay with money, but you can’t with greed for money. Love of money refers to a pathological desire for more money. Biblically speaking, money is neither good nor bad. Money in itself is a neutral thing. It is a means of payment. Love of money and greed, on the other hand, are from evil.