If “economics eats religion”, then we must move past John Calvin and his quest for social order (latent pattern maintenance) to other collective factors. Talcott Parsons (1970) identifies three other social functions, other than just latent pattern maintenance, that are critical to the establishment and maintenance of a viable social order: adaptation, goal-attainment, and integration.
- Adaptation, or the capacity of society to interact with the environment. This includes, among other things, gathering resources and producing commodities to social redistribution.
- Goal attainment, or the capability to set goals for the future and make decisions accordingly. Political resolutions and societal objectives are part of this necessity.
- Integration, or the harmonization of the entire society, is a demand that the values and norms of society are solid and sufficiently convergent. This requires, for example, the religious system to be fairly consistent, and even on a more basic level, a common language.
- Latency, or latent pattern maintenance, challenges society to maintain the integrative elements of the integration requirement above. This means institutions like family and school, which mediate belief systems and values between an older generation and its successor. [AGIL paradigm – Wikipedia]
Perhaps we can find the “ultimate” source of money’s value in one of these societal functions.
Money is Different
The unique value held by money resides partly in the fact that it is different from other entities in our life. Sailors in the musical, South Pacific, declare that “there is nothing like a dame!” I would similarly declare that “there is nothing like a buck!” There are many ways in which money operates in a domain that is quite different from most other entities. I identify several of these differences.
Big, Bad and Beautiful
Most things that we value (either positively or negatively) relate to one of the Three Bs. They are Big, Bad, or Beautiful. Money doesn’t inherently qualify as big, bad or beautiful. Most forms of currency are not very big and can conveniently fit into our change purse or wallet. Money is also not inherently Bad. Most of the things in our world that are Bad (negative value) tend to be active, strong, and working against our welfare or best interests. Unlike big snakes, attacking linebackers on the opposing football team, or an approaching stormfront, money is just lying there and doing absolutely nothing.
This is where money manifests a unique value. While money isn’t big, there is a primitive sense that a large amount of money is either wonderful (positive value) or menacing (negative value). Even the physical presence of a large stack of money can evoke a strong emotional reaction. Some of us are old enough to remember Walt Disney comic books that featured the wealthy Scrooge Mcduck, who would dive into large mounds of money. As a child, I was always enthralled by this unbridled display of wealth.
Money also is not inherently Bad. Yet, indirectly, it can provide the incentive and means for the enactment of active, strong, and menacing behavior on the part of someone who is rich; or money can serve as a powerful motivator for someone to engage in active, strong, and unethical behavior to acquire wealth.
Then there is the matter of beauty. It is probably possible for us to admire the intricate designs on the dollar bill (or other currency) and the craftsmanship exhibited by the careful engraving done in the production of currency; however, it is hard to think of money as beautiful. I would substitute the term “Awe”.
