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Money is a social responsibility. Investors lack the tools to shoulder it
A philosophical essay on the reasons why the wealthy cannot assume their social responsibility, and why this might soon change
When I was young, my father hung up a portrait of a Native American man on his office wall, accompanied by the following quote: “When the last tree has been cut down, the last fish caught, the last river poisoned, only then will we realize that one cannot eat money.”
As a child, I thought this made a lot of sense. Money did not taste particularly good (yes I tried it; to my defense I was little). Buildings were springing up in my neighborhood, and nature was getting less and less room to flourish.
I survived trying to eat a bank note. The neighborhood has transformed from farmland to suburban sprawl. The quote still hangs in its place. But my thinking has evolved.
Money does not mechanically lead to the demise of nature and the planet. Money does destroy many resources at the moment, but that might get better soon.
The reason for all this is that money does not exist. Let me explain.
