What Is Money, Really?
I. Introduction: Stripping Away the Illusions When most people hear “money,” they think of dollars, coins, or numbers on a bank screen. But those are just costumes—representations of something deeper. If we strip it down to first principles, money isn’t paper or digits. It’s a tool. And not just any tool—it’s the tool humans invented to preserve the value of their work across time. II. The Core Function of Money Money serves three fundamental purposes: Medium of Exchange : It lets us trade without barter. Unit of Account : It gives us a universal measuring stick for value. Store of Value : It allows us to carry our effort, time, and resources into the future. That last function—store of value—is at the heart of it all. One way to think about it: money functions like stored energy. It represents human effort already expended, waiting to be redeemed later. III. Money as Stored Effort and Energy When you work, you’re converting your life energy (time, focus, sweat) into value. Money...