What Should Money NOT Be Able To Buy?
In a world where you can pay for a homeless guy to camp you a spot at the front of the line before the release of a new iPhone, it's difficult to imagine what a MasterCard is not good for. You don't need to look very far to notice that money has a way of seeping into every inch of our society these days, sort of like fidget spinners. We are more spoiled for choice than ever before; I am currently standing in front of a vending machine trying to decide on which flavor I want today, even though there is no real way of really knowing if these products are as advertised or whether they're actually the used panties of 50 year old men who have a side gig in standing in line for you when a new iPhone is released.
The existence of markets in writing heartfelt eulogies, renting naked accountants, attending church on your behalf, hiring someone to apologize to the family members after they discover you'd bought your eulogy online etc. makes you wonder if there's anything money can't buy? Or are there things that money shouldn't be able to buy?
What Money Can't Buy?
If your first instinct is money can't buy happiness, then I encourage you to read a previous post of mine on this very topic. It's way past it's payout period by now so I can't be assed finding the link for you. Not unless you pay me $50 that is; so the link to the article about whether or not money can buy happiness is certainly not something that money can't buy.
Generally money has difficulty buying things whose value is eroded by the presence of payment itself. Trying to buy true love with money is like trying to wipe your ass with your own shit: you're introducing a variable that diminishes the very thing you seek, assuming you were seeking a clean ass in the latter case if not the former. Likewise, if I had a kid I probably wouldn't request him to pay me for the right to have his drawings stuck on the fridge with his earnings from working at the sweatshop. It can't buy things whose value depends on the absence of money itself.
And unicorns. Money can't buy unicorns
What Money Shouldn't Be Able to Buy?
Would it be acceptable to buy the right to speed on the road? How about pushing to the front of a kidney transplant list or have exclusive access to life saving medical operations? When technology allows, should the rich be able to select genes that can enhance the intelligence and physical attributes of their children, or even cheat death entirely by buying immortality? Should my ex be allowed to pay a lawyer to sue me just because the assassin I had hired failed his job?
Many of these examples make us uneasy, but why? What are the moral limits to what should be purchasable with money?
One of the things money CAN buy is a nice mattress
Harvard Professor Michael Sandel argues that this is because monetary incentives don't always align with promoting certain values. He cites an example where in an effort to promote more reading among school children, students were offered $2 for each book they completed reading. They found that the students did indeed read more books, but that they also read shorter books and when the money stopped, so did the reading. Not sure whether this would have worked when I was a student: I was already too busy learning to read braille by running my fingers along my pimply face.
Similarly a study in Switzerland found that residents were more reluctant to accept a local nuclear waste dump if financial incentives were offered. They were more willing to act out of a sense of civic duty, rather than have that magnanimity diminished via a bribe.
There are certain social goods and practices that money is ill suited to promoting as its very presence can compromise the meaning of these goods and practices. Imagine how it'd work out for me at the doctor's office if I offered him an extra $5 in cash to give me a prostate exam?
Harvard Professor Michael Sandel prefers 4 fingers in his prostate exams
Free market is a wonderful creation of humankind but it does have its inherent inefficiencies and isn't quite universally applicable. For now, I suppose I ought to be grateful that Apple isn't yet popular enough to require a homeless guy to camp you a spot in a line to hire another homeless guy to camp you a spot to get you the new iPhone.
If you enjoy this post please Upvote, Resteem and Follow me @trafalgar for more satirical articles
Love. Of course.
very true :)
one's soul
haha definitely true
Let's get the serious response out of the way.
I liked your use of the extreme examples of what money could possibly buy (speeding, transplants, better genetic code, etc.) But honestly that already exists to a lesser extent. Children of the rich have access to better food, better education, and better medical services. So even if they don't have a genetic advantage, their environment has so many advantages that it can trump the genetic advantages that a person without money happened to be born with.
ya it's true, I was meant to go from that to show that in many countries there are premium lanes where you can go faster if you pay, the wealthy are already able to genetically remove certain diseases and/or genes that increase susceptibility to cancer, but I ruined it with that stupid joke about assassinating my ex at the end and couldn't bring it back :p
@trafalgar I though the joke was great! hahahaha! Great minds think alike lol!
haha thanks a lot firepower :)
Ruined it? Or made it awesome?
No man you left some room for reader participation.
I loved that joke too. I love it when simply reading something can make me sit and laugh all by myself. Great job!
haha thank you everlove
Thing is, those people already have set a "standard". A base level for their happiness, comparing with their own community. This is how rich people are often quite miserable.
If you want to be truly happy then move to a place than everybody else has less than you do.
@hanshotfirst summed it up nicely. I had similar thoughts as I read through the article! :)
This is inevitable, right? Even if we know that rich people will get better access to healthcare, education, etc - we can at least try to mitigate / minimize it.
It seems too idealistic / utopian to hope for a society where wealth infers NO benefit regarding the important stuff of life.
Money can buy Steem = Steem rises = sell steem = earn more money = buy happiness and live happily ever after. Jk. Another good article @trafalgar , upvote.
thanks a lot freedomnation
what happens if Steem ROCKETS
Then we need a parachute for landing.
ill buy 2 BBQs :DD
You are really optimistic about life.
or irrealistic maybe
Money certainly changes the dynamics. Private prisons for example I think of as incredibly scary. Now people have an incentive to lock others up.
yes this is very true, incentives dont align well there at all
No such thing as private prisons when they are illegal to operate without government permission.
Thank you for making this ever more vivid.
The line of what is private is blur when government needs to grant its permission for everything but even more so because government can forcefully take away any previously granted right.
There is always an incentive to lock people up.
I appreciate how your posts somehow manage to be educational.
One of the biggest problem with money is that money seems to make money so the less you have, the harder it is to make.
I was thinking of a way to pay you to pay me even more, but the only way I could outsmart you into doing that would be if I had more money than you to begin with, which I don't.
Yes, the disparity between the rich and poor is exacerbated in this way
after a certain point, money just creates more money, so the rich effortlessly pull ahead over time making inequality worse
Congratulations @trafalgar!
Your post was mentioned in my hit parade in the following category:
Great Stuff!! FULL STEEM AHEAD!!!!
thank you :)
seem to remember Steve Jobs ignoring doctors advice in relation to his cancer for a year or more in favour of non traditional remedies, but after that not working and at the pleading of his friends and family he returned to the doctor and was told he needed a transplant.
I don't quite remember the details but to get a transplant quickly I think he bought homes in multiple states to apply, and proved he had a private jet ready so he could get to the hospital within x hours.
As we know the transplant was too late and he died. Not sure the point of my half remembered story, it just came to mind
haha moral of the story is try not to die like steve jobs
Or just, try not to die
This! :)
Amazing post! ☆☆☆☆☆😎
thank you very much :)
You're welcome.
Wealth could not buy you happiness, friendship, health, love...
But it can help you to make these things to happen easier
probably, but not as much as most people think
Money cannot buy happiness true, but in today's world ,there's not much happiness without money for necessities. Everything in moderation works best in my view.
nice post @ trafalgar
upvoted followed resteem
thank you
This is a solid question, but more importantly, money CAN buy large flat screen televisions. For under $1000, you can even buy TWO flat screens. Let's focus on what we can do with the American dollar! ;-)
haha that's true, they're getting bigger these days
Wonderfully written, as always. I agree with the points you stated. People shouldn't be allowed to buy leverage or things that would make their lives better at the expense of others. If we were to continue to subscribe to that old way of thinking, then how the hell do expect to progress as a society.
In the end though, it all boils down to perspective. What's "right" for us doesn't necessarily mean that it's the right thing for everyone. It's the subjective nature that often leads to contention.
I like how you put the transplant bribing thing as an example, since it's so prevalent in today's world. Let's say a rich man is dying, and he's willing to fund an entire building if he gets to the front of the line. In the bigger picture, the funding could potentially save hundreds more lives but at the cost of the ones he would overtake. Just by looking at the example, it's easy to surmise that cutting the line for whatever reason is "wrong," but yeah, the world isn't just 1s and 0s. The gray area in which we live in forces us to question everything.
It's a very divisive topic for sure, so it's great that you brought it up so eloquently. I find it funny that the weird stuff you enumerated exists in reality even though they sound stranger than fiction haha!
yes that's a very nuanced analysis
I do agree with a sort of utilitarian or consequentialist approach, but it needs to encompass a very wide set of consequences, not just the lives lost and saved in the narrow sense in your example, but how society would react if this would be the norm. It's difficult to say for certain with these things, as you said they are morally gray and complex
Oh yeah, no, I didn't mean to point out just that one metric. Because of the time and space constraint, I only stated the first thing that came to my head. The complex nature of it that I mentioned entails the very wide set of consequences that need to be considered. I'm sorry if it came out that I was just looking at that one metric. It's just one of many things to consider, I just wanted to point out a sort of contrarian thought as the representative to all those other scenarios.
Good story from you @trafalgar
Upvote & Resteem ^_^
thanks barvon
^_^
a baby
you can have my nephew for $4.99 incl postage
he's annoying :)
for sure we cannot buy happinesss...but its also true we cannot have happiness without money..as we are attached with lots of materialistic things in our life. for example you are writing this post to gain more money
yes the first part is true, some subsistence level income is necessary
second part is less true, or maybe truer in a less direct way, the money I make in my posts isn't too much for me, but hopefully i can show that non steemit/crypto news/charts posts can do well here and encourage others to write broader material :)
yes its true crypto currency news makes here more profit than all others. it seems to be in more trend or people are more interested in crypto currency investment
I don't think money can buy genuine kindness and honesty..... you can pretty much buy anything now, but you can't pay to have genuine human kindness at your side. Xxx
haha yup defintiely true :)
Thought provoking. Thank you. Sorry my response isn't better. Still thinking.
glad you had a read, hope you enjoyed it
There are things that money could not buy such as those that includes emotions, feelings, personalities. Money is something but not everything. We needed money, of course, that's the reason why we are working hard everyday to survive in this world but that doesn't mean without it we could not live. We might suffer in its absence but our whole personality does not rely on it.
yes the there are limitations of money and certain things will always be out of reach for money, like those you just listed
Money should never entitle you to be able to abuse others.
Yes, very true
Money CANNOT buy you TIME. This is from a guy who wasted years in a relationship that didn't work in the end; ending up wasting Years of my precious time; Years I could have spend doing anything instead of being a workaholic working his ass hard to have a family.
Money will never be able to buy you the time you've wasted.
this is very true, thanks for the advice
Consider also that most children would want more quality time with their parents rather than money. Most workaholic parents cannot supply the time, and end up supplying the money in the form of toys, bribes, counseling bills, cars, and other incentives.
Money cant buy happiness but it can buy a replacement for that.
ya i got a blow up doll being delivered as we speak :)
LOL at the iPhone joke!
I thought this post was going to be way darker when reading the title of the post eg.. assassinations, human organs, exotic animals, sex slaves, lol!
haha all my posts are satirical
sometimes they address fairly serious issues, but there's always some cheap toilet humor in there
Congratulations @trafalgar, you've deserved a dedication!
https://steemit.com/comic/@lighteye/b-c-stands-for-blockchain-may-08-2017-cliche
My husband loves to garden and is planting one behind an apartment not far from where we live. He is showing the children how to garden. Money does spoil things as he gave them change for helping.
When they showed up the next day they wanted to know how much money they would get. He told them he should charge them for teaching them to garden.
You probably guessed it they do not help anymore. They want money.
:)
haha yup i think this is a perfect example of the misalignment of money as an incentive
you can see it everywhere in society
even right here on steemit, it's literally everywhere
"it will buy you a companion, it won't buy you a friend"
https://steemit.com/money/@natxlaw/our-steem-dreams-what-is-it-we-all-hope-to-get-from-the-new-cryptocurrency-socialmedia-paradigm
haha that's true
i already got a companion
she's my cat :)
you should post pics, I've never seen cat pics on the internet.
The most important thing money shouldn't be able to buy is people. Simple as that and summing up pretty much everything, from love, to sex, over to business relationsships and friendships. The biggest harm to humanity is the fact that money buys politics which is ultimately mostly negatively affecting the world in nearly all kinds of aspects of life and environment.
yes that would be a common denominater
This is actually a text about human nature and morals, not so much about money, except as a symbol of power over others. Well written. If I haven't followed you since I came here, I surely would now! :)
thank you very much
I generally just write satirical pieces
sometimes the issues aren't trivial, but they'll always be a few punchlines thrown in
Oh, your writing is far from "just satirical pieces". And I mean it, not as a flattery, but a fact..!
One of my few favs here! :)
Nice post. Thank you
thanks for checking it out
I'll pay you 49$ if you find me the link to your recent post, deal?
I found that in today's society it's really hard for most to speak openly about money. It became a tool to measure ones successes in life, but is it so?
Money gives me the opportunity to live my life the way I want. For example when I want to travel, money is a tool. There are ways go travel without money, but as I said: money is a tool that makes things easier. While money can't buy you true happiness you can pay for having great experiences that makes you happy. I was a happy person with less money, I was a happy person with much money. It's no the money, it's you who decide whether you appreciate the little things in life or not.
btw, anyone want to camp in front of Apple for me? /ironic
Thanks for taking the time to read one of my posts
no deal, the price of steem has gone up, so it's $5000 now for the link :p
Yeah money can make things easier, but it's not always the best motivator, nor can it get you everything. As a species our survival required us to evolve the need to constantly seek satisfaction, and one of the pre requisites of constantly seeking satisfaction is to never be satisfied
I run a homeless shelter outside every apple chain store :p
Unborn baby body parts
haha, hopefully
Now to my real comments:
Thank you once again for your valuable information on bathroom technique. As we have discussed at length, for years I was doing it all wrong!
A second big thank you for stating that money can not buy unicorns. In my house, we look to you as the authority on all things. Therefore,using your statement alone, I was able to finally end this debate with my daughter. "If trafalgar said it... it must be true." Her dreams are crushed. Thank you.
What did your face say when you read it in high school?
haha I'm Chinese so I had to read it from right to left, but usually it said it wasn't ripe to be popped yet
There is your next post. Zit popping.
You're welcome.
That's me, always tackling the big issues
Great Article !! Money not ble to buy Respect, Purpose in life, Trust, Inner peace,Natural beauty.. :)
Upvoted and followed
thank you very much, glad you enjoyed it
nice....your post deserve my upvote and resteem....
@rafalgarI........!!think what can not be bought with money is one's pleasure or the "happiness" of one's soul.
haha yes i agree
so do I,,,,,,,,,!!!
I think @nayzer would enjoy your posts as well. 😊
Money can't buy True love , compassion and peace, be of good cheer.
haha well said
The US presidency?
lol
"Money can buy you a fine dog, but only love can make him wag his tail". Kinky Friedman
haha nice quote :) and too true
I've got a cat though, only ever pays any attention to me when she's hungry :p
Hahahaha No food no love ;-)
Money is a way to measure value on goods and services. In the world of material goods and services it can buy just about any material goods or material services. What the society values determines what they will pay. That can be and is tampered with by those who seek control but basically it is still the rule. By elevating the consciousness of a culture what they value will be more beneficial for everyone. But money does rule... At least that is what I see. As usual very thought provoking post nicely presented. Great discussion also. Thanks. Resteeming and posting the link on Facebook.
thank you very much jiva34
yes I don't think society would have made much progress with a marketplace
but I do think there are places with market inefficiencies, like the classics: monopoly, asymmetrical information, externalities etc
Michael Sandels view here is fairly enlightening, should catch his youtube talks if you're at all interested
thanks will take a look
Indeed the money can not buy happiness, but sometimes it can replace something that can make us happy
haha ya that's true :)
Good post. Upvoted, Followed and resteemed
"renting naked accountants"- Any way you could prove me for the link to this? The fact that I'm an accountant, and want money to hire a homeless guy to do people's taxes so I don't have to, has nothing to do with this request. I'm asking "for a friend".
It's true, in the sense that it's true that I found this stuff when I was researching for the post, but I lost the link
the other stuff there are also true, renting ppl to attend church or apologise for you etc lol
Hats off to those people who recognized a need and found a way to create a market for it. I wonder if it would be legal to have someone else who do jail time for you, if they are willing. All the white collar criminals who didn't want to spend time in Club Fed could pay a person who is down on their luck to serve their time. The conditions and amenities in Club Fed would be better than the circumstances many people endure as part of their daily life.
haha its easier for an Asian guy like me to pull that off as all i have to do is to get any other Asian guy to agree and everybody else would be none the wiser
People selling their services reminds me of the movie "Gattaca". I'm not much of a science fiction guy, and I'm not sure if it would be classified as sci-fi, more futuristic, but I loved that movie. Really gets you thinking, especially when you remember it was filmed back in 1997.
ah yes i've seen that movie, pretty interesting
Excellent post,lots to think about.
The great and brilliant Spike Milligan once said that money can’t buy happiness, but it can buy you the kind of misery you prefer.
haha i'm sold!
We should pay children to read books.
I suppose it's better than not reading at all
Great post! :)
Money can't buy unicorns. That's very sad but true.
Money shouldn't buy votes for elections, for example.
Money can buy happiness to a certain extent. Maybe it shouldn't, but let's be honest. The more money we have, the less we have to stress about it.
haha i like how you said shouldn't rather than can't with respect to election votes :)
You don't always get what you pay for also! I have a cheap mattress and am getting the best sleeps on it! Great post!
haha i think mattresses are a massive scam honestly
thanks annhoyblog :)
True Dat! Mattresses cost only a little to make and are really expensive to buy!
I dream of riding a unicorn! I would even buy 3 with my SBD if I could and go broke 👻
haha unicorns are awesome :p