Minted: God & Cash

Minted: God & Cash from Rob Bee on Vimeo.

I'm sure a lot of you will have noticed how much difference it makes to a child when they learn to read. It's incredible to see the change it makes; suddenly the world opens up to them. They learn more than just a new skill, they gain a massive amount of independence, and with that they get confidence and a whole new world opens up to them as these lines, dots and squiggles reveal their secrets. Previously they'd managed ok, with help from people around them who can read, but now when they don't need that help all sorts of possibilities reveal themselves and life takes on whole new dimensions.


I think that trying to live without money would be like that. It would be possible, but very, very difficult. You would have to rely a lot on other people. All sorts of doors would be closed to you and you would be cut off from a large part of life as you now know it. Money is a very necessary part of life and that is undeniable; but money also has a dark side.

People can get too attached to the idea of money. Whether they have any or not money can become the holy grail for people at the expense of other things – people will take higher paid jobs they know they will hate purely for the extra money, people can become selfish and greedy and can do the most dreadful things to other people in pursuit of an extra pound. People often say that money is the root of all evil, that is a mis-quote. They should say that love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, but that's not as snappy.


I have to say that the whole financial system leaves me with a mixture of feelings. Firstly boredom. I don't have an interest in the financial markets and only engage in that world out of necessity – mortgage, insurance, bank account etc. I strongly dislike the international monetary systems that prevail in keeping the rich rich to the cost of the majority of the world, which is kept in poverty by the decisions of a few men who control trade.

In 1998 the Governor of the band of England at the time – Sir Eddie George - said in a radio interview the high levels of unemployment in the North East was a price worth paying for low inflation across the country. Well, Mr George, try telling that to the hundreds of thousands of people who have lost their livelihoods, try telling that to the families who struggle to put food on the table. Try telling that to those who have lost their homes because they can't afford to pay their mortgages any more. I think his comment brings the crux of the problem to the fore. Money, surely, is supposed to serve man. Man isn't supposed to serve money, and yet here and in many other instances we are used as pawns of the financial markets. Real human lives are used to support and benefit an abstract concept, an unjust system, a folly.

It bugs me somewhat the gravitas that the financial news is reported with .At the moment the money markets are looking rather precarious and downturns in the economies of the west will have repercussions globally and will cost lives in the developing world. But the news is reported as if the events are unavoidable, like a natural disaster. Earthquakes, volcanoes and hurricanes are unavoidable catastrophes; financial market crashes are evidence that the system we have created doesn't work and we're not willing to fix it.
I don't understand how we can create and then continue to support a system in which everyone can lose. How come when there is stock markets crash millions of pounds/dollars/yen etc. can simply disappear? The money was there at the beginning of the day, where is it now?


Ok, I don't understand the financial markets, I don't like the way trade works and I want to see things done differently. What can I do about it? The political will to change the way things work simply doesn't exist, so there's very little I can practically do to change the big picture. But what I can do is be careful with my money. I have to use my money just like I'd like the financial institutions to use theirs. I have to do my best to make sure my money and spending doesn't adversely affect others. I need to think about the implications of my spending and avoid unethical spending. I need to use my consumer powers to demonstrate to the wider world where my priorities lie. With this issue more than to quote Mahatma Ghandi I need to, "Be the change you want to see in the world."