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Is money the root of evil? That statement gives room for a lot of doubt. First of all, money in itself can hardly be of any evil, but the greed for it has caused a lot of trouble throughout history .
Those who claim that the old bartering economy was to prefer to the modern money economy forget how difficult to handle that system was. A bartering economy is based upon the exchange of goods, and the goods demanded was not always available. The awkwardness of this system (supply did not always meet demand) led to a new system with special means of payment - gold, silver, copper and so on - which made trading much easier, since all merchandise now were given a determined value; the value of exchange no longer had to be stated in the specific merchandise the other party had to offer. This new system made trading much faster and much more convenient, and money was also a value retainer - people could save it for future usage .
The aversion to the accumulation of riches that exists in the Western European cultural sphere can possibly be traced back to the Medieval Catholic Church, according to which it was a sin to make money out of money. Due to the great power of the Church in those days, this ' axiom ' effectively prevented all kinds of banking business. Nevertheless, people needed to borrow money, and who were more suited for handling this ' dirty ' business than those who were considered to be the worst sinners of history - the Jews? In Judaism there were no scruples when it came to banking business, and this fact combined with the Christian contempt for the Jews made Jewish money lenders an important, but not officially accepted, part of the economy .
So much for history. Today, many philosophers, authors and other cultural personalities express their concern about the power of money; the optimistic belief that a totally unregulated world market will guarantee a continuous growth and so increase well-being for everyone seems to be frustrated. Money - or the greed for it - has caused a lot of the problems we are facing today, among which the environmental problems caused by ruthless exploitation of the natural resources are the most obvious. A new economic outlook which does not focus entirely on growth is desirable, especially in these days when the market seems to set the rules, not the national governments. People may be greedy for money, but they are equally greedy for living a life that is good in all aspects, not just the material one. But as long as wealth is the main road to good education, cultural and political awareness, and social status, it will continue to effect our choices in life .
Last, but not least, a sound balance in world finance is a prerequisite for a minimum of political turbulence. Nations tied to each other by trade are less likely to arm against each other. A drastic example, but it shows what favours a global economy gives. The small clique of speculators of the stock exchange who sweeps the markets clean and then move on to the next prospect have raised doubts about the bliss of a globalized economy, but this minority is not a major threat to global trade in the long run; they can cause a temporary decline but not a serious long term crisis that can ruin the world economy .
So, whether money is the root of evil or not, depends on how you look at it: as a mean to reach a goal - a tolerable life - or as a goal in itself .
