Importance of money in our life. The value of modern money in people's lives

IN modern world there is no greater power than money. Money unleashes wars and ensures the well-being of entire countries and regions. Because of money or with the use of money, the vast majority of crimes are committed. And at the same time, thanks to money, people create the greatest inventions, perform feats, discover new lands and conquer new worlds.

Money organizes modern society and the state. The life of modern people, states and the entire world community is subordinated to money.

Money is an outstanding achievement of mankind. They created modern civilization. Without money, a person would still dress in animal skins, but as work force would use animals or their own kind, turned into slaves.

How could a person go into space, create artificial intelligence and other wonders of modern civilization, if there was no money.

Two of the greatest inventions of man created modern civilization. The first is writing, which singled out man from the animal world and created the possibility of accumulating experience and knowledge and passing them on to descendants and other people without direct human contact. The second is money. Money has created the ability to manage the activities of man and society in terms of ensuring their benefits without the direct impact of people on each other.

The role of money in history has constantly increased, and now our civilization has reached a state where their value has become totally decisive. A hundred, even fifty years ago, there were large human communities who did not know money or used it in their Everyday life extremely limited. The end of the 20th century is the era of complete and total "moneyization" of the entire human community. In the modern world, a person cannot do without money in the same way as without water, air and food. In today's society, a person who does not have money is literally doomed to death, and in the shortest possible time. He can walk around a city full of food stores and starve to death if he has no money.

Or another example. Imagine a large factory equipped with modern equipment, where skilled workers and other specialists, raw materials, and the products of this enterprise are expected by consumers. And yet the enterprise stands still and does not work. And the reason is just that there are no numbers in some mysterious banking computer - there is no money on the company's account.

Even the desert, “watered” with money, will bloom and turn into a garden of Eden. And the most beautiful place for life, devoid of money, will become a vale of sorrow and suffering.

What the life of people in the modern world without money turns into is clearly seen in the example of Kampuchea during the time of Pol Pot. Three million dead - such is the price of the experiment to eliminate money.

Society can be controlled either by force or by money.

How the mechanism of social and economic life is destroyed when the monetary system is disturbed, we know well from own experience. The consequence of this was the general crisis of the country, which engulfed the state, economic, social, legal and other spheres of life.

Money for us is a way to express our aspirations, fulfill obligations, achieve revenge and retribution. The secret power of money binds us all - brothers and sisters, young and old - with bonds of love and envy, pity and malice.

Money does not leave anyone indifferent. Some are convinced that if they had more money, their life would be much better, and they would be able to find happiness. Others who have a lot of money seem to be constantly preoccupied with how to get more of it, how to spend it and not lose it. Money does not leave anyone indifferent, and it is hardly possible to find a person who would be satisfied with how much money he has and how he uses it.

The poor have very different concerns than the rich, but family conflicts generated by money are often very similar in different socioeconomic strata. For most of us, money is so deeply woven into our lives that the problems associated with it affect our health, our intimate relationships, and our relationship with our children and parents. This is a problem that is always with us.

Money is not just cash that allows us to buy different things. With money, you can buy education, health, security. You can buy time to enjoy beauty, art, the company of friends, adventure. With money, we help those we love and give our children greater opportunities. With money, you can buy goods and services or save such an opportunity for the future or for your descendants. Money is an instrument of justice by which we make amends for the harm done to others. Equitable distribution of money in the family and in society ensures equal opportunities for all. Money can serve as a symbol of all that is good in life: material wealth, education, health, beauty, entertainment, love and justice.

Although we know how many good things in life are associated with money, each of us is well aware of the problems that they create. Money worries can cause a lot of grief. Wealth often seems to bear the stamp of a curse and brings more misfortune than joy. Many of us indulge in the bitterest despair because we earn too little, or fear that because of the lack of money, we or our children will be hurt. Money is not only a symbol of all the good things in life, but also the root of all our problems.

Everyone understands that money is often the cause of happiness or sorrow, but in almost all walks of life there is a general taboo on any talk about our personal relationship with money. It is considered bad form to talk about how much it costs, who earns how much and who has how much money. Therefore, money very rarely becomes a topic of open discussion between parents and children, husband and wife, brothers and sisters, friends, and even between a therapist and his patient.

Money is a kind of energy, the driving force of our civilization. A similar situation arose in the course of human development only recently; it was not always so. In the past, the source of energy that fueled the interactions between people was the land or cattle, or slaves, or natural resources (water, salt, iron), or weapons. And although people have always used one thing as the main source of energy - one thing or one natural resource- none of these things or resources could turn into that colossal mechanism, which in our time is money - the only thing that permeates all aspects of human life and is the main element of modern culture. Today, money is the energy that drives the world.

Money is something dirty. Freud was the first to realize that money has a hidden meaning. However, he saw only their negative side. For him, money symbolized excrement and was associated with something disgusting and despicable. Perhaps that is why it is not customary to talk about money in most sections of society.

Freud rebelled against the hypocrisy of the mainstream religion of the Victorian era, with its condemnation of what was considered the "lower" part of human nature: the body, sexuality and material desires. He broke the taboo that forbade considering sex as an important part of human life. However, Freud did not do the same with money, perhaps because he believed that the desire for money was not an original, infantile impulse, or perhaps because in Freud's time money had not yet become the universal source of energy that it is today, - the only symbol that personifies any desire.

The taboo that keeps money from taking its place in our understanding of human nature is still in place. Even therapists who have no hesitation in touching on all sorts of issues related to sex and power rarely touch everything that has to do with money. They offered little to no wisdom on how to view the important role of money in personal development. Most people don't even think of consulting a therapist when they are overwhelmed by financial conflicts. However, disagreements over money cause perhaps more marriages to fail than for any other reason. Resentment based on money is probably the most important of all the problems that create estrangement between parent and child, brother and sister.

For today's world, money means the same thing that in the Middle Ages meant the salvation of the soul. The most important wars of the 20th century were not fought over religion, but over money. The question remains: is there a place for spirituality in our modern understanding of people? And if so, how does spirituality relate to money?

In the past, the relationship between our spiritual obligations and material desires was regulated by organized religion. As spirituality ceased to be an important element of our "I", our sense of self became increasingly determined by material desires, greed and addictions. The balance was upset, and material urges got out of control.

Today, money is the main reflection of the material world, that "low" world, the roots of which are rooted in the physical needs of our body, in desires and fears. Spirituality is a reflection of our best qualities, the ability to feel sorry for others, the "higher" world of searching for the meaning of life, striving for unity and community.

Money can also be one of the elements that make manifestations of spirituality possible. They allow us to sympathize, pay tribute, "love your neighbor." However, the pursuit of money for selfish purposes is contrary to spiritual values. Where is the line between loving yourself and loving others? The answer to this question means the resolution of the dilemma of our dual nature.

In today's society, as a bargaining chip that serves to satisfy all desires, money is the energy that moves the world. The desire for money reflects the desire to own a Porsche (namely a Porsche, not just a car to drive); the need to have a country house (namely a country house, and not just a roof over your head); the need to feast on cakes and sweets (and not just satisfy hunger). The desire for money is an artificial need that personifies all other artificial needs - to be slim and beautiful, and not just healthy and strong; be influential and admired, not just have Good work; the need to communicate thoughtfully, and not just have a good time.

These are all artificial needs, and the symbolic desire for money personifies an irresistible desire for their satisfaction. In exchange for all these things, we offer our bodies, our time, our love, and our peace of mind.

In the lives of many people, money is the main bargaining chip of love. When we love someone, we try to get something from him and at the same time give him something. This duality of purpose is what makes the problems of love so complex. Money also affects our character, making us either selfish or altruistic. But if you can love and be loved at the same time, then when we are talking about money, we often have to choose between selfishness and altruism.

For each of us, money constitutes a special inner world, a hidden life that may not manifest itself in any way externally. Inside each of us, perhaps, there is a secret miser or philanthropist. We are tormented by tormenting feelings of guilt or unsatisfied desires. Happiness and sorrow are part of the secret meaning of money. Everyone relates to money in their own way, and for many of us this attitude determines the nature of all our other relationships. We have seen that the secret meaning of money can be refracted in various dimensions and has a wide range of manifestations, up to the most extreme. For example, money can be used to express hostility or love, to help or exploit people. The nature of our relationships with others depends on what exactly we want to express through money.

What is now being said at all meetings of parliament and government, at meetings with the president, in tens of thousands of newspaper articles, in numerous television programs ... about the lack of money.

But if you think about it, it cannot but cause surprise. Ten years ago, the country's budget was characterized by sums of tens of billions of rubles, and at the same time there was constant talk about the lack of money. Now the account in the budget goes to hundreds of trillions. And again we hear about the catastrophic lack of money. And if the budget will be millions of trillions. Interestingly, then they will say that there is enough money. Until recently, we received salaries of one to two hundred rubles and were satisfied. Now even a pensioner receives thousands of rubles and complains about the lack of money. And if he gets a hundred million, are we sure that he will become richer.

Thus, the matter is not at all in the amount of money, but in something completely different. The point is, first of all, in the system of functioning of money. And the amount of money in itself is a secondary issue.

That is why it is important to know and understand how money functions in modern society.

Unfortunately, this knowledge is often hidden from society. People who control society with money are not at all eager to share their knowledge in this area with the public. On the contrary, myths are specially created in this area and disinformation is being prepared, public attention distracted by all sorts of secondary issues from the truly important points.

money credit check

Modern economy and human life unthinkable without money. We need them every day and everywhere. Every day we buy a variety of goods and services with money, put them in banks for savings, use them to pay for travel in transport, borrow, pay taxes.

It is obvious that money is needed and important not only for an ordinary person who uses it to satisfy personal needs. They are also necessary for other economic entities - enterprises and the state. The former will use the money to carry out entrepreneurial activity and profit, and the second - mainly for the purpose of regulating the country's economy.

Money in the modern world creates the basis for most economic relations, therefore it is impossible to imagine the functioning of a market economy without it, it is the monetary system that constitutes its necessary basis. An efficiently and stably functioning monetary system today is the key to the normal operation of the economy and sustainable economic growth. The enormous importance of money is also proved by the fact that almost all macro- and microeconomic indicators are determined in monetary terms, which makes it possible to analyze their dynamics and compare with other indicators.

Money- this is a special kind of universal commodity used as a universal equivalent, through which the value of all other goods is expressed.

Money has real, representative and nominal value.

Real (intrinsic) value of money- this market value Togo monetary material, which went to their creation, its value is determined by the cost of production of money.

The representative value of money reflects the economic strength of the entity that issues (emits) money, its ability to maintain their constant purchasing power, i.e. the ability of a monetary unit to be exchanged for a certain amount of goods and services. The representative value depends on subjective-psychological factors and is determined by the population's trust in money, which is manifested in the tacit consent of people to accept it at face value as an instrument of exchange.

Nominal (face-to-face) value of money is the denomination of banknotes.

If the nominal value is equal to the real value, then the money is called complete (valid), if it does not match, then it is signs of value (defective money). Full-fledged money includes all types of commodity money, gold coins, silver coins of the era of bimetallism. Defective include paper and credit money.


Among scientists-economists there is no single view on the origin of money. So far, there are 2 concepts on this issue:

1. Supporters rationalistic concept believe that money arose as a result of an agreement between people who decided that such a method of exchange would be more convenient and profitable for them. In this approach, money is viewed as an artificial social convention.

2. Presented evolutionary concept On the contrary, they explain the origin of money by the action of spontaneous, market forces beyond human control. The immediate prerequisites for the emergence of money and further development their forms are associated with the expansion of the volume of goods produced, the specialization and division of labor of producers. In conditions when more goods are produced than each business entity needs for its own consumption, some of them are exchanged for goods of other producers, and there is a need for a universal product that could be used to exchange for all other products and in which it would be measured. price.

The development of exchange goes through a long way of changing the following forms of value:

The simple, or accidental, form of value was in effect during the period subsistence farming, corresponded to the early stage of exchange between communities, when it was of a random nature: one commodity expressed its value in another, opposing commodity.

The full, or expanded, form of value is associated with the development of exchange, caused by the first major social division of social labor. - separation of pastoral and agricultural tribes. In this regard, numerous objects of social labor are included in the exchange, and each commodity, which is in the relative form of value, is opposed to a multitude of equivalent commodities. A significant drawback of this form is that, due to the multitude of equivalent goods, the cost of each of them does not receive a complete expression.

The general form of value is associated with the further development of commodity production and exchange, highlighting crafts, which led to the separation from the commodity world individual goods, which play the role of the main items of exchange in local markets (salt, furs, livestock, tools, etc.). The peculiarity of this form of value lies in the fact that the role of the universal equivalent was not assigned to one more commodity, but in different time it was alternately performed by various goods.

The monetary form of value is characterized by the release as a result of the further development of exchange and emergence of the merchant class one main product to the role of a universal equivalent, which, with the creation of the world market, was assigned to noble metals (gold, silver) due to their natural properties (qualitative uniformity, quantitative divisibility, connectability, recognizability, wastelessness, storage, rarity and portability). Since that time, the entire commodity world has been divided into two parts: “commodity rabble” and a special commodity that plays the role of a universal equivalent - money.

Thus, the essence of money lies in the fact that it is a specific commodity, with the natural form of which grows together public function general equivalent.

The function of money as a measure of value.

Money as a universal equivalent measures the value of all goods. The socially necessary labor expended on the production of commodities creates the conditions for their equalization. All commodities are products of socially necessary labor, therefore full money(gold and silver), which themselves have value, can become the measure of the value of these commodities. In addition, money performs the function of a measure of value as mentally represented, or ideal.

Society considers it convenient to use the monetary unit as a scale for measuring the relative costs of heterogeneous goods and resources. Just as one measures distance in meters and kilometers or weight in grams and kilograms and compares them, one also measures the cost of goods and services in monetary terms. It's comfortable. Thanks to the monetary system, there is no need to express the price of each product in terms of all other products for which it could be exchanged.

In the modern world, the value of various goods is expressed in homogeneous monetary units - rubles, dollars, etc., which are quite easily transferable (convertible) into each other.

Cost of goods is the socially necessary labor expended in its production. The value of a commodity expressed in money is called price. Prices and their movements are based on the law of value. The price of a commodity is formed on the market, and if supply and demand for goods are equal, it depends on the value of the commodity and the value of money. When there is a discrepancy between supply and demand in the market, the price of a commodity inevitably deviates from its value. The deviation of prices up and down from the value of the commodity producer indicates which goods were produced insufficiently and which goods were produced in excess.

To compare the prices of goods of different value, it is necessary to reduce them to the same scale, i.e. express them in the same currency. price scale in metallic circulation, the weight of the monetary metal assigned to the monetary unit is called. This price range is called official. Under gold circulation, the scale of prices implied the establishment of a monetary unit equal to a certain amount of gold. The Jamaican currency system, introduced in 1976-1978, abolished the official price of gold and the gold content of the monetary units of the countries participating in the IMF. Currently valid. actual or market price scale, when the price of gold is set spontaneously in the market. In Russia, also since 1992, the official ratio of the ruble and gold has not been provided.

The function of money as a medium of exchange.

The development of commodity exchange leads to the fact that an intermediary is wedged into it. As a result, the exchange process takes the form of T - D - T'.

Thus, the exchange breaks up into 2 independent, simultaneously performed acts that complement each other:

The commodity enters the sphere of circulation, the transformation of the commodity into money takes place by means of its sale C - M;

The reverse transformation of money into a commodity takes place, the purchase of a useful good D - C with the proceeds of money.

The appearance of an intermediary in the exchange of goods transforms it into commodity circulation. commodity circulation called the exchange of goods through money. When making a commodity transaction, money performs a special function of a medium of circulation.

As a means of circulation (exchange), money allows society to avoid the inconvenience of barter exchange. Money is ubiquitous and easily accepted as a means of payment, allowing resource owners and producers to be paid in a "commodity" like money that can be used to buy any other commodity.

The function of money as a medium of exchange is performed by real money that is fleetingly involved in the exchange. In this regard, this function can be performed defective money- paper and credit. Currently - credit (bills, banknotes, checks, credit cards).

The function of money as a means of payment.

With the development of commodity circulation, the sale of goods arises. on credit, i.e. with deferred payment. The debtor, having received the goods, in return gives the creditor a written promissory note (usually a bill of exchange) to pay the money within a certain period of time. T - O. When paying off a debt obligation, money also performs the function of a means of payment. O-D.

This is caused by the following reasons:

Unequal conditions for the production and sale of various goods. Some products have a shorter production period, while others have a longer one. For example, it takes a farmer several months to produce bread, and he will receive money only after harvesting and selling it on the market. To carry out the production process, the farmer buys agricultural machinery, seeds, fertilizers, etc. on credit.

The seasonal nature of production and marketing in a number of industries (logging, fish, peat, etc.). The work of enterprises here requires large seasonal costs before the sale of finished products.

Money also functions as a means of payment outside the sphere of commodity production: when paying wages, pensions, scholarships, allowances, paying interest, taxes, and rent payments.

The function of the means of payment is performed defective, usually real money (cash and non-cash), and in case of mutual offset of debt obligations - ideal.

The function of money as a means of creating treasures and savings.

Money, providing its owner with the receipt of any product, becomes the universal embodiment of social wealth. Therefore, people have a desire to accumulate and save them. After the sale of the goods, the owner of the cash proceeds did not turn it into a new product, the money "precipitated", went out of circulation, and became a means of accumulation. T - D.

The fulfillment by money of the function of a means of accumulation is determined by the needs of the circulation of capital, as well as the needs for expanded social reproduction, expensive consumption, and insurance.

Capital circulation formula.

C p ... P - T "- D".
D - T
R s

For example, a commodity producer, wishing to expand his business, to buy more perfect tools of labor, must resort to accumulation. Purchasing durable goods of considerable value, such as housing, also requires the accumulation of a fair amount of money. The solution to these problems is the accumulation of money.

The function of money as a store of value is performed by real and fake money(paper and credit).

It is necessary to distinguish between the function of money as a means of accumulation and the formation of treasures.

The treasure formation function is performed real and full money. Precious metals (gold, silver, platinum and platinum group metals), precious stones (natural diamonds, emeralds, rubies, sapphires and alexandrites, as well as processed natural pearls, unique amber formations) and products made from them act as treasures.

During the period of metallic circulation, money performed only the function of creating treasures. At the same time, they served as a spontaneous regulator of monetary circulation. If the scale of production and commodity circulation expanded, metal money, which was in the form of a treasure, entered the market to buy goods, i.e. acted as a medium of exchange. If the production and circulation of goods were reduced, then the part of the money that became superfluous turned into a treasure. Therefore, with full-fledged metallic money, there was usually a lot of money in circulation necessary for the sale of goods.

At present, the function of money as a means of creating treasures has ceased to play the role of a spontaneous regulator of the money supply in circulation. Modern money is not exchangeable for gold, therefore it is not a treasure, and their long-term accumulation leads to depreciation.

In the conditions of metal circulation and the exchange of banknotes for gold, central issuing banks were obliged to have gold reserves in the form of reserves of internal money circulation, exchange of banknotes and a reserve of international payments. At present, in connection with the withdrawal of gold from internal money circulation and the cessation of the exchange of banknotes for gold, all these functions of the gold reserve have disappeared.

However, gold continues to be held by central banks as a strategic reserve. Gold reserves provide confidence in the national currencies used in international settlements. And until the middle of the twentieth century. it was believed that the prestige of a nation is determined by the amount of gold reserves. Thus, in 1949, the United States concentrated 75% of the world's gold reserves (21.9 thousand tons).

The function of world money.

The functioning of money in circulation between states and foreign subjects makes them world money. Money serving international economic relations, are called currency.

Before capitalism, interstate commodity exchange was the exception rather than the rule. The main trade was carried out within countries; there was no system of international monetary settlements. The organization of relations in the world commodity economy leads to the emergence of exporting and importing countries, the provision of relevant services by insurance companies and banks, the formation of international credit and the development of international tourism.

As a result of these processes, the growth of the world market for goods and services, the functions of money develop, and world money appears. When performing this function, money is dropped by "national uniforms".

World money is historically and logically based on all previous functions of money, synthesizing them. They serve as an international measure of value; international means of payment - when repaying debt obligations; international purchasing means - when buying goods abroad; materialization of wealth - in the form of foreign exchange reserves.

From 1867 to the 1970s gold was the main form of world money. But since the 70s. gold ceased to serve not only domestic economic turnover, but also (with rare exceptions) economic relations between states. At present, it is considered to be almost finished. demonetization of gold- loss of monetary functions by gold. Now the function of world money is performed by the currencies of individual countries (US dollar, British pound sterling, Japanese yen), regional monetary units (euro), international currency units (SDRs - special drawing rights).

Money plays a key role in market economy. It appears in the following:

1. The social role of money, their function in the economic system is that they act as a link between producers.

Being concretized in a certain subject, they are, as it were, a general condition social production, an "instrument" of social economic relations of independent commodity producers, a tool for spontaneous accounting of social labor in the commodity economy.

2. Money play and quality new role: they become capital, or self-expanding value. Money transforms money-capital in the reproduction of individual capital due to the fact that its functioning is included in the circuit of industrial capital.

3. With the help of money, the formation and redistribution of national income takes place through the state budget, taxes, loans and inflation.

4. Money is the object of monetary regulation of the economy of industrialized countries, based on the monetarist theory of money. In these countries, taking into account general economic tasks, a monetary benchmark for changing the money supply is set for a year (in Russia for a month), and in accordance with it, it is regulated using credit instruments of the central bank.

Money does not leave anyone indifferent. Some are convinced that if they had more money, their life would be much better, and they would be able to find happiness. Others who have a lot of money seem to be constantly preoccupied with how to get more of it, how to spend it and not lose it. Money does not leave anyone indifferent, and it is hardly possible to find a person who would be satisfied with how much money he has and how he uses it. The poor have very different concerns than the rich, but family conflicts generated by money are often very similar in different socioeconomic strata. For most of us, money is so deeply woven into our lives that the problems associated with it affect our health, our intimate relationships, and our relationship with our children and parents. Money affects our digestion, money is on our mind when we are doing something. This is a problem that is always with us.

The idea that as our desires are satisfied, they do not weaken, at first glance, seems to be contrary to common sense. However, who can argue that the chagrin of an unsatisfied acute desire to go on vacation to a ski resort will be weaker than the pangs of hunger? Probably, this is how a person works: as soon as his main vital needs are satisfied, new ones immediately appear. Apparently, we not only strive to satisfy our desires, but also create new objects of desire. In The Prosperity Society, economist John Kenneth Galbraith points out that this aspect of our economic system is one of the main factors that distinguishes it from all others. economic systems known in history. “It is impossible to defend production as a means of satisfying needs if this production creates new needs,” he writes. - Production only fills the void that it creates ... It is the process of satisfying needs that gives rise to new needs ... Anyone who insists on the importance of production to satisfy these needs is nothing more than an observer who praises the squirrel for her efforts to overtake the wheel, which she herself spins. Galbraith goes on to say that economists have failed to pay due attention to the importance of this process of creating needs in our time. It is still believed that needs arise by themselves, and economists still, without any hesitation, are looking for means to meet these needs. He argues that because of their blindness, economists are likened to “a philanthropist who was long ago convinced that there were not enough places in city hospitals. He still begs passers-by for money to open new places in hospitals, not wanting to notice that the city doctor deftly knocks over pedestrians with his car so that the hospital beds are not empty.” By creating new needs, we also create new conflicts. In Stephen King's The Essentials, a demon comes to a small town in Maine and opens a shop. He trades in things specially designed to satisfy the secret hidden desires of all the inhabitants of the town. Each of the townspeople immediately understands that this or that object is intended to satisfy his urgent need, even if it did not exist at all until he looked at the object. One of the characters in the novel sees a fishing rod - exactly the same as his beloved father had. Another discovers a portrait of Elvis Presley, bringing her to the heights of bliss, close to orgasm. A gambler buys a toy that predicts which horse will win the race. The demon refuses to take money for all these items. He prefers to "bargain". However, such a trade leads to the fact that the life of each person is endangered, and he loses everything he had.

King's demon creates necessities like Galbraith's "demons" create artificial needs. However, real demons are not the devil or factories that create things that arouse in us desires unknown to us until we know about the existence of these things. Demons live in ourselves; they represent uncontrollable desires, the craving for the satisfaction of needs, and their satisfaction, in turn, gives rise to a new thirst. In today's society, as a bargaining chip that serves to satisfy all these desires, money is the energy that moves the world. The desire for money reflects the desire to have a Porsche (namely, a Porsche, and not just a car that you can drive); the need to have a country house (namely a country house, and not just a roof over your head); the need to feast on cakes and sweets (and not just satisfy hunger). The desire for money is an artificial need that personifies all other artificial needs - to be slim and beautiful, and not just healthy and strong; be influential and admired, and not just have a good job; the need to communicate thoughtfully, and not just have a good time. These are all artificial needs, and the symbolic desire for money personifies an irresistible desire for their satisfaction. In exchange for all these things, we offer our bodies, our time, our love, and our peace of mind.

Many think about the role of money in life modern man and over the question of whether it is possible to be happy with a small income? Modern man cannot deny himself the pleasures that life offers. Everyone wants to dress well, eat well, live in a nice apartment, and drive a nice car.

Many guardians of morality, repeating the hackneyed truth that happiness is not in money, are somewhat cunning.

It is surprising that they especially zealously defend this position those who or who:

  • The salary is not lower than 70,000 rubles per month, and they do not agree to anything less.
  • He believes that they need an unmeasured amount of money for very important things, the expediency and usefulness of which is under a big question mark.
  • We are sure that other people can get by with a meager amount or deserve much more modest means than they do. An extremely idiotic attitude, which at one time greatly flourished in society, and now, fortunately, has weakened the grip of human brains - the opinion that someone is obliged to do something for free, while even saying “thank you” is not necessary.
  • They have a bunch of movable and immovable property, fattening, getting high, breaking away on money earned in dubious ways. Such people (if they can be called people) got it into their heads that only they are the navels of the earth, worthy of living well, and the rest are people from the "lower" society. So they tell people from the “lower” society that happiness is not in material goods, although they themselves cannot imagine their happiness and their lives without these goods.
  • deeply religious people.

This article will not focus on the above categories of citizens. Here are arguments about the meaning of money in modern society and for a single person in the context of vital necessity. It is told that there is money for the average person, what opportunities they give and how you can rationally manage them. So.

Money. What is known about them?

The history of money begins even before our era, during the heyday of great civilizations. Previously, people simply exchanged the necessary things according to the principle “you - to me, I - to you”, but then banknotes appeared, for a certain amount of which it was possible to become the owner of the desired thing.

Money is a system of measures designed to establish the material, moral or intellectual (scientific) value of something or someone. Now for money you can become the owner of anything: everything is sold and everything is bought. Whether this is good or bad, it is impossible to say for sure. On the one hand, recalling the recent Soviet past, it is clear that people lived by communist principles and fought for the idea, believed that socialism would destroy evil on Earth, that everything should be equal for everyone, etc. Yes, under the Soviet structure of the economy it was permissible and even necessary to think and propagate these dogmas in society.

But times have changed: communism has been replaced by market capitalism, and sometimes gangster capitalism (unfortunately). There is already no money, as they say, neither here nor there. It's just that society's misfortune now is that a huge gulf (and even an abyss) has appeared between the rich and the poor. There is middle class, but it is not enough. Or insanely rich or poor. Two extremes. It shouldn't be like that. When all people will be able to live with dignity, but without frills, and officials will stop stealing - this is a philosophical and rhetorical question.

The value of money for modern man

Some people find it very difficult to prove that money and moral qualities are compatible. It all depends on upbringing and on the values ​​that were instilled in a person, as well as on diligence and perseverance. If a person has earned money by his many years of painstaking work and was able to acquire some material goods, there is nothing wrong with that. On the contrary, it is wonderful that a citizen achieves everything himself and does not expect help from anyone, including from the state. But human envy is a bad and useless thing.

Money is given to a person:

  1. Prosperity: you can buy everything you need and want.
  2. Independence: acquire and do what you want.
  3. Opportunities: live within your means, allowing yourself a little or a lot more.
  4. Status: certain money allows you to acquire and do certain things, to enter certain circles.
  5. Confidence: there are all sorts of situations and difficulties in life, but 95% of them can be solved with the help of money.
  6. Freedom: choice, desires, aspirations.

Moral values ​​have been and will remain so, but it is better when there is something to buy food, an apartment, clothes, medicine than to be hungry, homeless, undressed and lifeless. necessary treatment. Worthy and smart person money can provide an opportunity for self-realization and self-improvement, opportunities for development and self-affirmation (in good sense). You can do charity work, sports, purchase equipment and expendable materials for your hobby. For example, according to the most conservative estimates, it costs 10,000 Russian rubles to start skiing for one person: this includes the skis themselves, poles for them, bindings, ski boots, i.e. the most necessary equipment. If an employee has a salary of 20,000 rubles, then it is unlikely that he will give half of it to a sporting goods store for the sake of his aspiration to be a skier. So the poor fellow has only to dream of skiing, sighing heavily at night and feeling inferior.

It is clear that the question of a salary of 20 thousand should be asked to politicians rather than ordinary people, but only on such a sad example of skiing is the need for money (and, preferably, not quite small) in life understood.

And how many marriages broke up due to lack of money! For example, the family has nowhere to live. If it is not possible to buy a separate apartment, and you have to live with your parents, many conflict situations can arise and be provoked: both between spouses and between parents and spouses. So love is good, but material basis before creating a family, you must have.

Rational spending of money

Rationality and prosperity are concepts for everyone. For some, even 500,000 a month is not enough, and someone manages to live on 30,000 and save for something they want. However, there general principles rational use of monetary benefits:

  • Clearly understand how much money you need for necessities of life. These items include food, rent, travel expenses, medicines, tuition fees (if any);
  • How much money can you spend on your favorite activity;
  • How much it is possible to save a month for the desired thing (when you need to save up and immediately purchase something, there is no way).

You can end the article with the phrase with which it began: "Happiness is not in money." Only with the obligatory continuation: “but with them it is somehow easier to realize that happiness is not in them.” Money will not bring 100% happiness, but it can make a person a little happier.

belong to the group of goods called services. However, in practice, goods are most often called goods - items that can be stored, stored, packaged, mixed, etc.

The movement, the transfer of goods from one owner to another, or, as they say in economics, the circulation of goods, is unthinkable without observing the principle of equivalence (equality) of their value. Its implementation occurs with the help of .

The economic role of money

In a market economy, the price of a product is formed based on its value with a possible deviation. The price of goods is influenced by the ratio of supply and demand, as well as competition, which allows you to reduce the price of goods. The pricing mechanism is aimed at increasing, reducing the level of costs. The money supply is equivalent to nominal GNP, or, in a simplified form, the sum of the prices of goods, if we do not take into account the redistribution processes and the repeated counting of material costs, which in general view consistent with the quantity theory of money. The use of money makes it possible to take steps to link and balance cash income and expenditure. The role of organs in this is great state power, which can contribute to the expansion of production individual industries and goods through financing capital investments for these purposes, providing tax incentives.

3. Demand financial assets - these are operations with real estate, (GKO, OFZ), foreign currency, bank deposits, bank certificates, shares of companies. To buy them, "high-efficiency" money is required, i.e. cash or cash in the reserve of the Bank of Russia.

4. Interest rates on financial assets. Contemporary sets feedback between the demand for money and rising asset interest rates. IN Russian conditions this dependence is still weakly effective due to the absorbing effect of other factors. High level interest rates on financial assets maintains a high conjuncture of demand for them, reduces the demand for cash and for . But at the time of the stock market crisis, financial assets are dumped, and there is a rush demand for cash rubles and foreign currency.

5. Velocity of money. The higher the velocity of circulation of money, the lower, other things being equal, the demand for money.

6. Set of currency factors. In our conditions, the demand for dollars exceeds the demand for rubles, which makes the task of stimulating the demand for rubles urgent, so that the national currency is the main reference point in the activities of market entities. Money is used to assess the profitability of export and import operations, for cash settlements for these operations. Money is used in settlements on credit and non-commodity transactions, in compiling the country's trade balance as a result of comparing the volume of exports and imports for certain period, when summing up in the form of an active or passive trade balance.

7. Needs beyond the current financial turnover , is the demand for money needed for expanded reproduction. The size of real money demand is determined by the resource endowment of the subjects. The structure of the money supply in Russia does not take into account the shares of commercial banks and joint-stock companies, government debt. The policy of state debt obligations is subordinated to the tasks of financing the budget deficit and does not affect the problems of economic restructuring, the flow of capital from the financial to the real sector of the economy.

8. Demand for money depends on application of modern financial and banking technologies, clarity of operation of the entire system of payment and settlement turnover. Demand for money decreases after implementation electronic way translation valuable papers from one owner to another.

9. Demand for money depends on the intensity of the processes of saving money in the accounts of legal and individuals . The growth of savings expands the possibilities of using money in, since the increase in money is ensured by the fact that part of the previously issued money is in bank circulation. Given this property of money, many economists believe that the most important factor Demand for money is formed by the demand for real money balances, since the purchasing power of money is important for people, and not their nominal value. Given the value of real cash balances, the effectiveness of the price factor remains. If you count main task promotion of economic growth and prosperity, then the creation of incentives for the savings of the population and their transfer into savings should help expand the boundaries for the growth of the money supply, financial support expanded reproduction.

So the demand for money is the demand for cash necessary for commodity circulation, foreign economic transactions for the implementation of financial transactions for the acquisition of government securities. The dynamics of the physical volume of production, as well as prices, have a decisive influence on the demand for money. The basic basis for the demand for money is the cash balances on the accounts of market entities and the propensity of entities to save, trust in the national currency and in the credit policy of central banks. The diverse use of money and its impact on the development of the country are largely based on the fact that products are produced by market entities not for their own needs, but for other consumers, to whom they are sold for money. Manufactured products take the form of goods, and commodity-money relations are formed between the participants in the production and sale of goods.

Features of the manifestation of the role of money in different models of the economy

The role of money in various models of the economy is as follows:

  • the impact of money on improvement economic activity;
  • strengthening the interest of subjects of economic relations in the development of production with the help of prices and cost reduction;
  • the dependence of cash costs on income;
  • control over prices, volume and quality of goods and services.

With the existing until recently in Russia command economy the role of money was limited. Money was assigned a supporting role as an instrument of accounting and control by the economic management bodies. The volume and assortment of manufactured products were established by higher organizations for each enterprise in the form of plans in physical and value terms. At the same time, the cost indicators of the planned volume and range of products were of subordinate importance and were calculated on the basis of physical indicators based on prices set by the central authorities.

Produced products were distributed among consumers. When selling products, money and monetary settlements were assigned a subordinate role. With this model of the economy, the role of money is reduced, which is associated with the use of stable prices. Prices remained unchanged with a different ratio of supply and demand and continued to be applied when there was a shortage of goods and their normalized distribution. In such conditions, suppressed inflation arose, accompanied by a decrease in the role of money, since for the purchase of goods it was not so important that the buyer had money, how important was the possibility of obtaining them in accordance with established norms.

However, the use of money makes it possible to determine the total amount of costs. Comparison of the planned and actual cost levels made it possible to assess the deviations of the actual level from the planned one and apply measures to normalize it. The use of money made it possible to evaluate the implementation of the plan in terms of the total volume of production and develop measures to improve its implementation. However, despite the fact that the use of money increases the possibilities of accounting and control, this does not allow money to be assigned an independent value in the economy.

IN market economy the role of money is greatly increased. This is due to the fact that the conditions of economic activity are changing, they are changing into tools and new conditions for managing the processes of production and sales of products arise. In a market economy, commodity producers acquire independence in establishing the volume and range of manufactured and sold products. At the same time, the role of money is enhanced, with their help an assessment of effective demand is given, taking into account which the volume and range of products are formed. Considerations of the profitability of activities are taken into account, which take into account the level of prices for manufactured products and the level of costs.

The rise of the role of money is retail, in which distribution according to norms, coupons is canceled and money plays a decisive role in determining the possibility of buying goods. Regulation of the economy by the state is carried out not by administrative, but by market methods.