What does Aristotle say about money?
In Aristotle's view, wealth is not an end in itself but rather a means to an end. Beyond our basic needs, Aristotle cautioned against the pursuit of wealth for its own sake. “Wealth is for the sake of life, not life for the sake of wealth,” he said.
The commodity theory of money: A classic theory, which goes back all the way to Aristotle (Politics, 1255b–1256b), holds that money is a kind of commodity that fulfills three functions: it serves as (i) a medium of exchange, (ii) a unit of account, and (iii) a store of value.
Through this analysis I want to establish the claim that Plato argues for the following: [1] that justice, in the sense of the morality of individuals and societies, is far more important than the acquisition of wealth, [2] that moderate wealth is important for its function to enable humans to live a moral life, [3] ...
There is one kind of fortune which is the possession of natural good desires: this is indeed regular, and so there is no objection to saying that it is natural, but it is not a matter of luck. 'Not all who seem to have good fortune prosper by luck, and not through nature' (1248a12 ff.).
Money creates problems when we do not have it, and yet more problems when we do have it. But it is only an illusion that we are in control of our money: in actual fact we do not notice how subtly and intensively it exercises control over us. Money makes us both master and slave.
Aristotle linked wealth to a purpose beyond accumulation. He thought whatever we aim to amass for ourselves must have a deeper meaning — a meaningful end. “Being wealthy consists in using things rather than in possessing them; for it is the activity and use of such things that makes up wealth,” writes Aristotle.
In his metaphysics, he claims that there must be a separate and unchanging being that is the source of all other beings. In his ethics, he holds that it is only by becoming excellent that one could achieve eudaimonia, a sort of happiness or blessedness that constitutes the best kind of human life.
According to Marx, money is the product of commodity economy. Under the condition of non-commodity economy, the general human labor does not manifest itself as value, and there is no contradiction between use value and value, concrete labor and abstract labor, social labor and individual labor, so there is no money.
And although he barely spoke about it, the one time he did it was truly enlightening. Here's what he had to say: “ Compound interest is the eighth wonder of the world . He who understands it, earns it … he who doesn't … pays it.”
Wealth and rank are what men desire, but unless they be obtained in the right way they may not be possessed. Poverty and obscurity are what men detest; but unless prosperity be brought about in the right way, they are not to be abandoned.
What did Socrates say about wealth?
If a rich man is proud of his wealth, he should not be praised until it is known how he employs it.
“Education is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.” ~ Aristotle “All knowledge should be subject to examination and reason.” ~Aristotle “Man is a political being.” ~Aristotle “We are what we do repeatedly. Separate him from law and justice and he is the worst.”
Aristotle's answer is that it can, but incidentally and not intrinsically. Aristotle concludes: 'it is clear then that luck is an incidental cause in the class of those actions that are for the sake of something which involve choice' (2.5. 197a5–6, 32–35).
Aristotle defined sound money as having durability, portability, divisibility, and intrinsic value. These principles have guided our understanding of currency for millennia and continue to inform our modern monetary system.
Machiavelli asserts that Fortune has agency over human affairs. While not a god as the Romans believed, he names Fortune as an active force in the world. He believes that Fortune shows preference for certain princes by, ironically, making their jobs harder.
German philosopher and sociologist Karl Marx (1818-1883) argued that when money fuels 'wealth' activities—when it is used for gaining individual or social power, advancing our interests, or for the sake of getting recognition—it becomes dehumanizing and alienating. This phenomenon largely emerges through materialism.
Though Aristotle did see the inherent need to fuel economic growth, he did not appear to condone the nature of capitalism as we know it.
Doing anything well requires virtue or excellence, and therefore living well consists in activities caused by the rational soul in accordance with virtue or excellence. Aristotle's conclusion about the nature of happiness is in a sense uniquely his own.
Society has an obligation to protect everyone's basic rights and to establish a level playing field, whereby people can compete to get ahead in life unhindered by a disadvantaged background, poverty or a lack of connections.
Aristotle is famous for his theory of the ``good life,'' or eudaimonia. He thought that the good life is an excellent, flourishing, happy life and that the good life can only be achieved by people with exceptional character who have taken excellent care to develop their virtues.
How did Aristotle define life?
A soul, Aristotle says, is “the actuality of a body that has life,” where life means the capacity for self-sustenance, growth, and reproduction. If one regards a living substance as a composite of matter and form, then the soul is the form of a natural—or, as Aristotle sometimes says, organic—body.
In Aristotelian logic, the most basic statement is a proposition, a complete sentence that asserts something. (There are other kinds of sentences—prayers, questions, commands—that do not assert anything true or false about the world and which, therefore, exist outside the purview of logic.)
There is no government or private property or currency, and the wealth is divided among citizens equally or according to individual need. Many of communism's tenets derive from the works of German revolutionary Karl Marx, who (with Friedrich Engels) wrote The Communist Manifesto (1848).
"Inflation is always and everywhere a monetary phenomenon."
Friedman's work busted the classic Keynesian dichotomy on inflation, which asserted that prices rose from either "cost-push" or "demand-pull" sources. It also put monetary policy on the same level as fiscal policy.
Karl Marx: Bourgeoisie
'' It is certainly true that many members of the bourgeoisie both in Marx's time and today were and are wealthy because of their ability to profit from the labor of others, but it is control, rather than wealth, that is the defining feature of Marx's bourgeoisie.
