"Everybody has some, nobody has enough. You hate it when it's lacking, but you welcome it with open arms. We resent having to discuss it, but we think about it all the time. It is the lifeblood of economy, the all-purpose tool, the instrument of success. It heals, it makes people sick, it saves, it kills. It sleeps, it circulates, it fertilizes, it disappears, it corrupts, it grows, it changes hands.
It is merited, and it's dirty. We use it, dream about it, hide it, exhibit it, lose it, waste it, disdain it, adore it. We accumulate it like a treasure, but then it becomes sterile. We meditate on it, renounce it, envy it. People use it to reflect their intimate desires, their rivalries, successes, frustrations, ambitions and resentments.
At night, it rises up, takes form, dominates our thoughts, illuminates, protects, crushes. It is a phantom god whom we implore and resist. It is the scapegoat for all the problems we face. It is a universal commodity, embellished with the whole range of human emotions; it is the measure of our existence."
- Guy De Rothschild, 1909 – 2007
Just about says it all.