Money: The Root of All Good

Money can be used to buy a physical item, such as a Lamborghini Aventador or a luxurious mega-yacht. However, the term “money” doesn't just apply to tangible commodities, it affects the way a certain person is perceived, possibly in terms of attractiveness or status, and is guided by a person’s perception of morality. Money applies to both the tangible and the intangible, because a lifestyle filled with physical objects from money has psychological outcomes on how people distinguish between what’s right and wrong. It has been historically and evidently clear that money makes people more moral in terms of their actions.

Money allows people to benefit others. According to Satish Kumar, “Money must be guided by morality”, which makes sense because throughout history immoral money decisions have led to downfall of civilizations and societies. During 300 AD, Ancient Rome’s collapse was due primarily to greedy emperors levying heavy taxes on their people. After several years of high taxes, the money economy broke down and so was the normal system of taxation. This led to the collection of taxes in goods and services. Soon, there was no money to pay for an army, and invading Barbarians destroyed Ancient Rome. Because immoral money decisions inevitably lead to downfalls, people have evolved to make moral money decisions. This can also be interpreted in a biological standpoint. Natural Selection governs reproduction of species and is the idea that nature “selects” individuals with traits that are advantageous to survival. The civilizations that made immoral money decisions collapsed, causing descendants of people who made immoral money decisions to die also. Overtime, only the people who make moral money decisions will live and reproduce. Eventually, Earth will be left inhabited by people who make moral money decisions according to Natural Selection. Moreover, “Money is the product of virtue, but it will not give you virtue and it will not redeem your vices”, implying that you have to be moral in order to have money. Andrew Carnegie and Warren Buffett (billionaires by today’s standards) both donated huge sums of their salaries towards building projects and charities. Carnegie was responsible for opening up thousands of libraries to help young children get an education in order to pursue their dreams. He wanted people to have the same opportunities he had when he moved to the United States. Buffett also donated over $1,000,000,000 towards charities. Both these examples prove
how money allows people to benefit others. In addition, both of them came from poor families. Their journeys from poor to rich lives and their generosity showcases their moralities.

In addition, money teaches people many moral lessons and only people who deserve money end up with it. “Wealth is the product of man’s capacity to think” and “Money is made- before it can be looted or mooched-maybe by the effort of every honest man, each to the extent of his ability. An honest man is one
who knows that he can’t consume more than he has produced” meaning that people are wealthy because they work hard for their wealth. One example is teenage millionaire, Nick D’Aloisio, who made his fortune in programming. During his childhood years Nick bought a How to Program for dummies book which he studied until he was proficient in programming. At the age of 12 he was launching new apps every summer until he was 15 which Nick launched his most famous app, Trimmit. Trimmit is an app that condenses news from 1000 words to 140. While Trimmit was in the store, a Hong Kong based billionaire sponsored Nick to further perfect the app which became Summly. After perfecting Summly, Yahoo bought the app for $30,000,000 and gave Nick D'Aloisio a position in the most prestigious technology based company. Nick’s story on the development of Summly shows that he became wealthy due to his hard work and dedication starting with only just a How to Program For Dummies book. His story proves how he used his “capacity to think” to earn his money by creating an app. Moreover, he’s learned valuable moral lessons such as helping others with his app. Nick never had any intentions of making huge amounts of money; he did it because it was his passion, and he wanted to invent an app that would help people. The lesson Nick learned is that when he pursued his dream of programming and helping others, he made millions. It’s undeniable that the road to money teaches people to be more moral.

Furthermore, society puts a blame on money as the root of all evil. In reality, money should be viewed as the root of all good. It’s the LOVE of money or greed that leads to corruption and evil, not the money itself. Many former lottery winners, who were millionaires for a while, now live on food stamps and some even in debt. William “Bud” Post won around $16,000,000 and now lives on his social security. He was sued by his girlfriend for a share of his lottery winning, his brother hired a hitman on him in an attempt to inherit some of the millions, and he opened a car business and restaurant for his family that brought no money back to him. Post and his family proves how it’s the love of money that leads to corruption and evil. Such greed and love can cause people to kill another person just to inherit money. This is analogous to a knife. A knife can have a negative connotation if it is used to stab another person but has a positive connotation if it is used to cook. Knives and money are both tools that people abuse which gives them bad connotations.

In contrast to the popular belief that money and morality have an inverse relationship, they actually have a direct relationship. As money increases, morality becomes greater instead of lesser. The idea that money makes people more moral is profound and the world should strive towards learning the connection between morality and money