It's the money, honey

It's the money, honey
By Chan Akya

Mark Twain quipped that the lack of money is the root of all evil. Humans are irrational, but societies are rarely so, until they choose to become extinct. Understanding the economic factors underpinning society helps us to appreciate the process of change better than an independent evaluation of all else.

The success and decline of religions, as well as the failure of political systems such as communism, all hark back to economic factors. The ability to feed and care for adherents has too often been mistaken for spiritual success, in much the same way that religion can be blamed for entrenched inequality and poverty - for example, by its role in maintaining social strictures that in essence allowed vested interests to flourish in various countries. Communism collapsed not because it is a bad idea per se, but because the idea is inconsistent with cold economic realities.

Even in the most basic of human activities, economic rationale rules. Women choose men based on their ability to provide economic security for their offspring and themselves. Men in turn choose women based on their own status in society, getting the women that best represent their position. This is why some old, rich men are with nubile members of the opposite sex. At the social level, this translates into a definition of success that allows many humans to make rational choices. In this environment, both men and women may choose alternative lifestyles when they fail to make the grade in their own societies.

Peace, love and goodwill to all men; bah humbug. Show me the money, honey. ...more