What is money?

It is often said that money is the root of all evil, but the original words state that it is the love of money that is the root of all evil. The point is an important one, for in truth money is simply a tool, a mechanism, a measure of economic performance. In and of itself, money is morally neutral. Yet how wealth is pursued, how money is managed and the way in which much of ‘modern’ society tends to focus on money as an ultimate measure of worth are the true questions upon which we should focus our attentions.

Money is simply a proxy for economic value and a way to ‘keep score’. However, it is a grossly blunt instrument of measurement that is inherently flawed: that is, it does not truly capture the full measure of worth created through the application of our life assets. Money claims to be a measure of value, yet value itself consists not simply of economic returns, but rather a blended return emanating from a mix of economic, social and environmental components. In truth, value may not be bifurcated – one half doing well, the other doing badly – in the same way that a DNA strand does not naturally fall apart if it is to achieve its full purpose in building a whole being. It is only the mutant strand that is not whole or does not fulfil the full promise of its potential. Therefore, we cannot consider money without also considering how money can be used to maximise economic performance, as well as social and environmental impacts.

The institutions that channel money

The same holds true of the organisations that make use of or ‘channel’ money and those that put it to use. Companies cannot be viewed solely as engines of economic value creation and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) generators of social worth.