Handout 1: Purposes and Roles of Money
Some purposes and roles assigned to money:
- Money stands in for things of tangible value in the world. It is fundamentally representative of work and value creation.
- Money is a medium of exchange.
- Money allows us a way to come into relationship with one another, regardless of distance and prior knowledge of one another.
- Money expresses power.
- Money reflects and transmits meaning in ways that are particular to individuals, families, and communities.
- Money enables us to transfer value over time. In so doing, it grants us a very limited power of transcendence, since it can influence the world beyond the reach of our living and our lifetimes.
In all its roles, money can present moral and ethical questions, issues, and challenges.