Chris Lewis,

I love the Arts things like history, anthropology, archaeology, sociology, philosophy, etc. They seem to be the subjects that most people are fascinated by and I cannot blame them. Could you imagine how bored you would get if you had to listen to the shadyminister telling you about what he does as an engineer.

SM,

What makes you think he's got past Standard 10 ?

Money is surely just a means of exchange. Scrooge McDuck, wallowing in his room full of notes and coins, might be a rare creature. Hmmm, maybe not so rare:

It depends how much you have of it, and what you want to do with it. You could be like Trumpf: a slum-lord, a rack-renter, and croney of major criminals and thugs such as Erdogan, inheriting hundreds of millions and parlaying it into hundreds of millions over forty years; or you could be someone with empathy and compassion, like Mother Teresa or Fred Hollows, who, I'm sure, would have answered their own question: how much is enough ?

I suppose it depends how you want to be remembered: for your love of your own power, or for the love of humanity.

But I must say now that I've put the image into my own head, that Trumpf probably has a huge room in which he periodically wallows in all forms of domestic and foreign currency. I dare not think what's in the next room, but I'm sure she has a nice arse.

Joe

Dear FOULmouth,

It is my 3 Arts degrees that places me as one of the most educated people in the country. It's as simple as that.

Mr O, anyone who loves life, will like the humanities.

But my point is anyone, and everyone, is qualified to talk and know a lot about it

"Life isn't all about money, or is it?"

I used to say that money on its own wont make you happy but it can pay for research to find out what will.
But maybe I was wrong, having money probably does makes one happier than not having money.

Money isn't necessarily evil on its own.
- Like a gun without a finger on the trigger to fire it, harmless
You can do more good things for people if you have money than if you don't have money.

"Would you be willing to live without money?"

It might be an interesting experiment.
Do I think it would work? No.
People are greedy, money creates a universal value.
If you do more hours work and a more skilled job you should get paid more than someone who does less work or work requiring less skills.

Not having that universal value would create more problems and fighting than it solved.

"Would you be willing to share with others?"

Yes of course, but with conditions:

I'd only be willing to share when its within my means.
I should never be expected to share; my sharing should be considered free choice, not obligatory.
I reserve the right to 'not share' without being judged for 'not sharing';
- If I feel (for whatever reason) that 'not sharing' in my own better interests
Sharing occurs under the guise of a hand-up, and my good nature shan't be exploited by anyone who expects a hand-out.

"Would you like more money?"

Yeah sure, are you offering?

"Where does one draw the line and how far does one go to survive?"

Are you asking if its ok to steal food if you're starving?
Might depend on the circumstances.

If its ok to fight for the last parachute on a plane about to crash?
I don't have all the answers.

You only have one life, it has value.
If you believe in God NathanJ, you're one of his children.
He cares about you and wouldn't want harm to come to you.
He might not support your actions if they harmed others.

Seen on a car bumper sticker:

"Money can't buy you happiness
BUT
you can be miserable in comfort!"