coollabman:



this long epistle because of MMM?!
there's no quick and easy way to make money my dear! its only unprincipled people with a weak conscience that will be swayed by the allure of free and easy money! There is dignity in labor! Earn your money. The awoof of MMM has a very sinister price attached to it! it will take a while before people eye go clear!

RaggedyAnn:
I didn't join the MMM band wagon, when it just started to gain in popularity in Nigeria, because I considered myself above these cheap get-rich-quick schemes. Even in this recession where seemingly everyone is involved in at least one of the bunch flooding the scene- Swiss Gold, Ultimate cycler, etc- I stuck to my so-called 'noble' convictions and determined to stay a penniless woman with a conscience. If only a conscience had any market value, I would be all set.

What's wrong with getting rich quick really? People would ask me. I used to have a lot to say to that too: easy come, easy go; if it seems too good to be true, it usually is; MMM is a Ponzi scheme and it will surely come around to haunt you; it's not adding any value to the economy (like I was the police for that!). All the while, as I sat on my ass (not adding any value to the economy either) justifying my resolve to steer clear of the goose that lay the golden egg, I watched as acquaintances traipsed into their homes, daily, with new gadgets acquired by MMM proceeds. My, heretofore, eloquent excuses became stutters. And then very lame whispers. And then I started asking the question myself: what IS wrong with getting rich quick really?

I had a support system of like-minded people - my sisters (minus the treacherous one who would never let an opportunity like this pass her by) - so, as my belief was shaken by the prosperity of neighbors and friends, I called them to make sure that they had not abandoned ship and joined MMM. This would have made me the biggest and loneliest fool in the country. Gladly, there was still three of us in this pool of righteous misery. But one of had indicated that her resolve had broken and she would be part of the crew come next year. "Yeah, me too" I said.

So, in preparation thereof, I started to find out more about my prospective business venture. I like to research things before committing myself to anything. No matter how redundant that exercise may prove. For instance, before downloading a free app, I read the terms and conditions carefully before clicking 'I accept' even though I cannot, for the life of me, think of anything that might have been contained in the conditions that would have made me change my mind about downloading it. It's a free application! And I need it, so I would probably agree to anything - juxtapose my image in a porn flick if you like. But still, I read it because I'm paranoid like that. It's like heading into a dark alley after, painstakingly, scanning the area and spotting the creep with the hatchet lurking in the shadows. What was the point of looking?

The MMM website, right away, clearly highlights the pitfalls. You may lose all of your money, it says. Use spare cash. What is spare cash? Does anyone with cash to spare feel the need to join MMM? They don't pretend about it and honesty is always good for credibility. So I felt that we were off to a splendid start. Possible loss of investment is always a valid risk in business so this wasn't a deal breaker per se. Still, I wanted to know that they were not the ones planning to abscond with the loot sometime soon so I read about the MMM philosophy.

It was an interesting read. The ideology highlights a communist approach to wealth. Which is unsurprising, seeing that it originates from Russia. It starts by explaining that it is just as immoral to work for money as it is to have sex for money. Prostitution and labour for wages are equally disgusting. They believe, people should be motivated by desire to work, and not by money. This is an idealistic view, in my opinion - a desirable concept, but idealistic nonetheless . In reality, people can not be trusted to discover a 'desire' for work and ultimately the economy will suffer. But if we could all be uber-menschen, the idea is noble.

Since most people would likely revert to their comfort zones given the choice to work or not, money provides the necessary impetus. And like they rightly state on the site - money has become the modern-day slave master. And it is only an illusion too. Paper. They say money has been touted to qualify as 'a measure of labour' in which case the hard-workers should actually be the wealthiest people. I believe this over-simplifies it at best, and borders on misleading. Money isn't a measure of labour, while it is a universally accepted medium of exchange, it's more a measure of utility. And it is indispensable because utility is a subjective notion.

So, no, I do not agree that money and working to earn it should be demonized. I believe that it is a thing of pride to have someone else value your product enough to pay money for it. However, I absolutely subscribe to their opinion of banks. They're evil. Interest rates are ridiculous and all they're really doing is lending you someone else's money (not theirs) for a profit. They invite the population to pool their resources in one place and then they decide to advance it to whomever they deem fit making themselves filthy rich with the crazy interests.

The MMM idea is to advance money to people at no interest. Everyone pools their resources together and it is made available to whoever needs it. It's comforting to know that there's an easily accessible safety net somewhere, and one doesn't have to suffer through abject poverty. It provides certain security. Realistically, not everybody needs huge chunks of money at the same time. The idea, ultimately, is to provide help to others and accept help from others as the need arises. It's sort of a macro version of the local contributions people make at their offices. I was moved by the idea of it and it immediately made me want to be part of it. But again, the MMM idea places a lot of faith in the integrity of people. And most people who get on MMM do it, not out of a desire to share resources , but with the intention to mop up as much as they can for themselves before it goes bust. And therein lies the failure of the scheme.

The real scammers aren't the initiators of this platform but the people who join with the sole intention of stealing other people's money. And that's what you would be doing if you seek to profit from MMM to buy needless items while never affording actual needy people from benefiting from you as well. As conceived, there's no profit to be made on the MMM platform, it's only a large communal barn of grain that counts on people to be civil enough to fetch for their bellies and not their secret silos.

I still haven't joined MMM. I'm back on my poor judgmental behind. But while I viewed the multitude thronging the banks, every Tuesday and Thursday, as potential victims of an elaborate scam, I now consider them to be the immoral predators. The neighbors traipsing in with new refrigerators and generators and SUVs? Well, if they aren't planning to win some and lose some in the future, they might as well have come home from the nightly operation of armed robbery. What's wrong with getting rich quick really? Absolutely nothing. What's wrong with a unicorn? Absolutely nothing, it is beautiful. It also doesn't exist.

coollabman:



this long epistle because of MMM?!
there's no quick and easy way to make money my dear! its only unprincipled people with a weak conscience that will be swayed by the allure of free and easy money! There is dignity in labor! Earn your money. The awoof of MMM has a very sinister price attached to it! it will take a while before people eye go clear!

RaggedyAnn:
I didn't join the MMM band wagon, when it just started to gain in popularity in Nigeria, because I considered myself above these cheap get-rich-quick schemes. Even in this recession where seemingly everyone is involved in at least one of the bunch flooding the scene- Swiss Gold, Ultimate cycler, etc- I stuck to my so-called 'noble' convictions and determined to stay a penniless woman with a conscience. If only a conscience had any market value, I would be all set.

What's wrong with getting rich quick really? People would ask me. I used to have a lot to say to that too: easy come, easy go; if it seems too good to be true, it usually is; MMM is a Ponzi scheme and it will surely come around to haunt you; it's not adding any value to the economy (like I was the police for that!). All the while, as I sat on my ass (not adding any value to the economy either) justifying my resolve to steer clear of the goose that lay the golden egg, I watched as acquaintances traipsed into their homes, daily, with new gadgets acquired by MMM proceeds. My, heretofore, eloquent excuses became stutters. And then very lame whispers. And then I started asking the question myself: what IS wrong with getting rich quick really?

I had a support system of like-minded people - my sisters (minus the treacherous one who would never let an opportunity like this pass her by) - so, as my belief was shaken by the prosperity of neighbors and friends, I called them to make sure that they had not abandoned ship and joined MMM. This would have made me the biggest and loneliest fool in the country. Gladly, there was still three of us in this pool of righteous misery. But one of had indicated that her resolve had broken and she would be part of the crew come next year. "Yeah, me too" I said.

So, in preparation thereof, I started to find out more about my prospective business venture. I like to research things before committing myself to anything. No matter how redundant that exercise may prove. For instance, before downloading a free app, I read the terms and conditions carefully before clicking 'I accept' even though I cannot, for the life of me, think of anything that might have been contained in the conditions that would have made me change my mind about downloading it. It's a free application! And I need it, so I would probably agree to anything - juxtapose my image in a porn flick if you like. But still, I read it because I'm paranoid like that. It's like heading into a dark alley after, painstakingly, scanning the area and spotting the creep with the hatchet lurking in the shadows. What was the point of looking?

The MMM website, right away, clearly highlights the pitfalls. You may lose all of your money, it says. Use spare cash. What is spare cash? Does anyone with cash to spare feel the need to join MMM? They don't pretend about it and honesty is always good for credibility. So I felt that we were off to a splendid start. Possible loss of investment is always a valid risk in business so this wasn't a deal breaker per se. Still, I wanted to know that they were not the ones planning to abscond with the loot sometime soon so I read about the MMM philosophy.

It was an interesting read. The ideology highlights a communist approach to wealth. Which is unsurprising, seeing that it originates from Russia. It starts by explaining that it is just as immoral to work for money as it is to have sex for money. Prostitution and labour for wages are equally disgusting. They believe, people should be motivated by desire to work, and not by money. This is an idealistic view, in my opinion - a desirable concept, but idealistic nonetheless . In reality, people can not be trusted to discover a 'desire' for work and ultimately the economy will suffer. But if we could all be uber-menschen, the idea is noble.

Since most people would likely revert to their comfort zones given the choice to work or not, money provides the necessary impetus. And like they rightly state on the site - money has become the modern-day slave master. And it is only an illusion too. Paper. They say money has been touted to qualify as 'a measure of labour' in which case the hard-workers should actually be the wealthiest people. I believe this over-simplifies it at best, and borders on misleading. Money isn't a measure of labour, while it is a universally accepted medium of exchange, it's more a measure of utility. And it is indispensable because utility is a subjective notion.

So, no, I do not agree that money and working to earn it should be demonized. I believe that it is a thing of pride to have someone else value your product enough to pay money for it. However, I absolutely subscribe to their opinion of banks. They're evil. Interest rates are ridiculous and all they're really doing is lending you someone else's money (not theirs) for a profit. They invite the population to pool their resources in one place and then they decide to advance it to whomever they deem fit making themselves filthy rich with the crazy interests.

The MMM idea is to advance money to people at no interest. Everyone pools their resources together and it is made available to whoever needs it. It's comforting to know that there's an easily accessible safety net somewhere, and one doesn't have to suffer through abject poverty. It provides certain security. Realistically, not everybody needs huge chunks of money at the same time. The idea, ultimately, is to provide help to others and accept help from others as the need arises. It's sort of a macro version of the local contributions people make at their offices. I was moved by the idea of it and it immediately made me want to be part of it. But again, the MMM idea places a lot of faith in the integrity of people. And most people who get on MMM do it, not out of a desire to share resources , but with the intention to mop up as much as they can for themselves before it goes bust. And therein lies the failure of the scheme.

The real scammers aren't the initiators of this platform but the people who join with the sole intention of stealing other people's money. And that's what you would be doing if you seek to profit from MMM to buy needless items while never affording actual needy people from benefiting from you as well. As conceived, there's no profit to be made on the MMM platform, it's only a large communal barn of grain that counts on people to be civil enough to fetch for their bellies and not their secret silos.

I still haven't joined MMM. I'm back on my poor judgmental behind. But while I viewed the multitude thronging the banks, every Tuesday and Thursday, as potential victims of an elaborate scam, I now consider them to be the immoral predators. The neighbors traipsing in with new refrigerators and generators and SUVs? Well, if they aren't planning to win some and lose some in the future, they might as well have come home from the nightly operation of armed robbery. What's wrong with getting rich quick really? Absolutely nothing. What's wrong with a unicorn? Absolutely nothing, it is beautiful. It also doesn't exist.