To say that things have gotten absurd is an understatement. There isn't a word for how things have gotten since the only one who knows this word is GOD. But let me tell ya' if he/she/it ain't laughing his/her/it ass off right not he/she/it should be.

What kind of species creates an artificial construct entirely of its own then elevates its importance over and above itself--the construct being money? The human species created money. The human species can do away with it and isn't it all becoming a little ridiculous, this thing with money? I mean, this thing with money could annihilate the entire planet making the obsession even more, ok, inane. (God, is this the word you would use? INANE?).

Imagine a world without money and currency. Go ahead. Take the leap. "How could this possibly work?" you say clutching your wallet in both hands. Now, hang on to your Gucci because this is really going to blow you away. Here is how it would work: everyone would get what they need. Again. Everyone would get what they need. Everyone would be guarenteed a shelter, food, health care (gasp), and transportation. The dying person in Dafur right now? This person would get all of this and how barbaric that this person does not get all this now. You see, money leads to barbarism, lack of compassion, empathy...Money is barbaric.

Even more barbaric is charging people for what they need to live--like for food. For health care, for getting around. For being human. We live on a planet that charges people money because they were born. Because they are alive. You pay. This is all a part of the elevation of a human-created construct over human decency and welfare and it's well, sick. Very sick.

Ok Ok you say. But go on about how this would work.

Everyone gets what they need. Whatever you own right now, you keep. Your house. Your car. Boat. It's yours.

What about hoarding you ask?

Yes, intially there would be hoarding but then it would strike people as incredibly stupid to hoard since anyone can attain what they need anyway. Why would you hoard 8 cars if you can have 8 cars anytime? If you can have anything you want, where is the incentive to hoard, rob, kill, steal, cheat, bomb, shoot, threaten, connive...Without money, much of the things that make us kill one another and kill the planet (climate change) would be totally eliminated.

The government that hoards the money while their own citziens starve to death...well, this would make no sense without money.

We have enough material crap that we could get a little to anyone who wants it. The person dying in Dafur would get a place to live. Would get food. Human love and generosity would finally be totally and completely released. We could finally be kind to one another, help one another, care for one another because this barrier we put up to divide us from ourselves would be completely and totally GONE.

There will come a time, possibly right before the planet dies, when money will be abandoned because our obsession with it will just become impossible to maintain. It will suddenly look really really stupid to shoot someone for their money. We also will not be able to afford planetary death. Climate change, all these disasters, population growth...we are going to price ourselves out of existence at some point and we will not be able to afford money any more. If we do not eliminate money deliberately and replace it with a more humane system, it will happen anyway. Inevitably.

The financial collapse has made us all see how pathetic we are as a species. That the best minds are NOT making the best decisions. That the human species may in fact deserve to go extinct. That chasing this crazy thing we created called money is killing us all. It's killing the planet.

As Carl Sagan pointed out, the tragedy of the human species is it has evolved the capacity for foresight but refuses to use it. Can we use it now? Do we have the fortitude and courage to use it now? The answer will determine the future of the entire world.