We live today in a capitalistic world, a debased world where people do not only say money is everything, they also go further to say money is the only thing. When our ancestors invented money, it was to facilitate the division of labor. In other words, it was to facilitate people helping each other. Nothing more than that. If money has now become something more than that in the 21st century world, that can be attributed to decivilization.


In a highly developed economy of the modern day as opposed to the economy of an Indian tribe of 1000 people in the Amazon forest in Brazil, the economy of bushmen in the Kalahari desert or even some uncontacted tribesmen in Northern Nigeria, money is needed because a single person, a family or a community can not produce everything they need. One person who is an accountant and family head needs money to buy food, clothing, accomodation, pay bills for his family and etc. We consume apples in Nigeria which grows in Europe and Europe can not do without chocolate made from cocoa which grows only in six non European nations and etc. So in very developed national economies trading with nations over huge distances, money is and remains a very important tool.



However, widespread ultra capitalism has taken this to the extreme. Ultra capitalism does not believe in sharing. Only in grabbing. Ultra capitalism reduces expenses by reducing number of employees when possible and by the introduction of cheaper production processes and etc. No thought or consideration about the goose that lay the golden egg by way of providing huge markets for business entrepreneurs. That goose is the masses. The pre industrial world put them into consideration and shared everything such that uneployment was never a topic for discussion anywhere in the world prior to the industrial revolution. In my opinion, ultra capitalism led to the Great Depression which happened when companies were producing and governments did not think of financially empowering those who will buy the products.


I also must say my opinion is that ultracapitalism is the cause of societal ills like widespread drug abuse and etc because If things were shared such that every human being has a respectable job like teacher, researcher, policeman, sales attendant, manager and thousands of other responsible positions, then drug abuse and even crime by anyone will be minimal. Has anyone ever seen a primary school teacher in charge of kids whose life was messed up by drugs? Such may exist but they are very far in between. Some people in responsible positions abuse drugs but are able to stay afloat. A large part of the world's problems is caused by ultra capitalism and lack of empathy.






WHAT IS BETTER THAN MONEY?



As earlier posited, money is needed by individuals who live in societies with highly developed economies. You need just a little money to cater for your needs. Housing, clothing, feeding, transportation, telephone and internet, then health. You do not need more money than what you need to offset those expenses. In an advanced nation like Germany, it is now reported that most people in their 30s do not buy automobiles anymore, they make use of rented cars managed by companies, parked all over the city when they need to drive. They will enter the car with a pre issued card and they will be metered. Car service and maintenance expenses are borne by the car rental companies. So, the money needed by a human being is determined by the size of his or her household. In the past, a household contains the household head, family and workers and all will share in responsibilities and benefits with no one left behind. So a large household will need a lot of money while an individual needs only a little. If an individual has a lot, it will be a waste until the person gives it away. So, money, seen correctly, is not everything. It is just a tool. A man with a family needs more of it than a single person.


A saying goes thus 'Eni nwa owo lo to pade iyi lona, ti o ba ri owo tan, iyi naa lo ma fi ra. Meaning 'A person looking for money encounters honor, even if he had encountered money, he would use the money to buy honor.



So when they ask you 'What is better than money?'. Tell them 'Honor'. Honor is better than money. That was the way it was established by those who inaugurated human culture on Earth. Honor is better than money.



Honor is dependability, saying it as it is, respect for self and others, reliability and etc. Name it. It is better to be a honourable person than to be a wealthy person.

Great insight Sir, good job.

It is possible to have both honour and wealth. It's also possible to have either or neither. I think it's just that simple.

Going by the Yoruba proverb you anchored to, the "honour" will be purchased with wealth. Truth is, Owo laso oge, bio sowo, faari o si. Owo ni koko, owo ni fuja.

Indeed, there is honour that's associated with wealth and there is one associated with nothing. And that's not good enough.

I will argue that you do not buy honour, rather you earn it. That's exactly your argument.

If so, then iyi, as used in that proverb you alluded to, has other meaning. At least it has price-tag.

Olowo nfowo ra iyi: that 'iyi' is 'commodity of enduring value' that costs some fortune. It follows that "iyi" as used in that proverb means "value".

So back to the proverb: you are looking for money, you come across value, go back home and brainstorm.

The reason is given: If you get the money you are looking for, you will eventually spend all on valu-ables.

So, the dark saying is that, you should recognize "value" as "intangible wealth" in case you come across it instead of money in your quest for success.

Moral: we must learn to create wealth instead of being fixed into hunting for money. I agree with your Puritan philosophy in spirit and soul. I agree with wealth also.

absoluteSuccess:
Great insight Sir, good job.

It is possible to have both honour and wealth. It's also possible to have either or neither. I think it's just that simple.

Going by the Yoruba proverb you anchored to, the "honour" will be purchased with wealth. Truth is, Owo laso oge, bio sowo, faari o si. Owo ni koko, owo ni fuja.

Indeed, there is honour that's associated with wealth and there is one associated with nothing. And that's not good enough.

I will argue that you do not buy honour, rather you earn it. That's exactly your argument.

If so, then iyi, as used in that proverb you alluded to, has other meaning. At least it has price-tag.

Olowo nfowo ra iyi: that 'iyi' is 'commodity of enduring value' that costs some fortune. It follows that "iyi" as used in that proverb means "value".

So back to the proverb: you are looking for money, you come across value, go back home and brainstorm.

The reason is given: If you get the money you are looking for, you will eventually spend all on valu-ables.

So, the dark saying is that, you should recognize "value" as "intangible wealth" in case you come across it instead of money in your quest for success.

Moral: we must learn to create wealth instead of being fixed into hunting for money. I agree with your Puritan philosophy in spirit and soul. I agree with wealth also.

Thanks for the contribution

lawani:
Thanks for the contribution

I appreciate brother. God bless sir.