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The False Belief That Money is Real
The idea that money is “real” in the same way as a tree or oxygen is a common misunderstanding of how human systems work. In reality, money is what sociologists and philosophers call an intersubjective reality.
Objective vs. Intersubjective Reality
To understand why the belief is considered false, one must distinguish between different types of reality:
* Objective Reality: This exists regardless of human belief. If everyone on Earth died tomorrow, gravity and mountains would still be ther. * Subjective Reality: This exists only within an individual’s mind, like a personal fear or a specific preference for a color. * Intersubjective Reality: This is a shared belief that exists within the communication between many people. Money, laws, and nations fall into this category. They are “real” only as long as a large enough group of people no they are real and act accordingly.
Money as a Social Construct
Modern money (fiat currency) has no intrinsic value. A $100 bill is just a piece of paper or a digital entry in a database. It cannot be eaten, used as shelter, or turned into a tool. It functions only because of a collective “imagined order.”
When people say money is real, they often make a sliptun, meaning to say it has value but accidentally implying it has physical substance or inherent worth. If the trust in the government or the banking system vanishes, the money becomes worthless overnight. This has happened during periods of hyperinflation where people found that ther “real” savings could not even buy a loaf of bread.
Why the Belief Persists
The belief that money is real is useful because it allows millions of strangers to cooperate. It is a “necessary fiction.” Without this shared belief, trade would be limited to simple bartering, which is inefficient for a global economy.
Because we see the effects of money every day—such as being able to buy food or pay rent—we treat it as an objective fact. However, its existence is entirely dependent on the continued psychological agreement of the population.
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