Money is real power, not because it is paper, or gold, or encrpyted zeros and ones, but because it is a representation of the wisdom of the crowd, community agreement, and a unit which preserves, respects and honors human dignity, in saying: your body is yours, and you have a will, thus your time and efforts are valuable to you, and I will not steal them. I will trade you value for value, because I honor the divine value in you.

In the past it was seashells. They were just rare enough, and just plentiful enough, to serve as a workable currency. Some may scoff today at the idea of seashells as money, but they would be misunderstanding the very essence of money. Essentially, it’s a convenient unit of trade.

When we realize that value is subjective, in the eye of each individual self-sovereign and autonomous value-er, and that it takes agreement between individuals in a community to form a market, we see the real meaning of money: it is the human creative force in action, creating value “out of thin air.” It is a powerful, god-like act, which is why the creation of independent currencies has routinely been forbidden by governments and kings since time immemorial.

Money is the “blasphemous” idea that: I value you and your time, and expect the same from you. I wish to live in peace, security, happiness, and prosperity. Let’s create a system of exchange we can use in community to help each other, because in so doing, we find joy, and also help ourselves.