Money as “Encapsulated Choice”

We can look at money as “encapsulated choice” rather than an inert token of value, because it confers freedom of choice. It is inherently both “slippery” and “sticky”—“slippery” because its value is changing all the time as a result of economic conditions and the unpredictability of consumer preferences, and “sticky” because consumers do not always buy in the cheapest, and sell in the dearest market. Economics is concerned with the quantity of money and its supply and demand, where the debate swings between the “aggregate demand” Keynesian or the Friedmanite “monetarist”. People are funny about money and regard it with different approbations. Are we to give it three cheers for freedom of choice, two for selfishness versus altruism, or only one or none for its potential for its capacity for greed and self-aggrandizement? We need a new philanthropic principle for money in economics, which takes a more optimistic view on how people like to spend their money, and provides incentive for “giving back” to society the wealth “Economic Man” is creating.