The great thing about money is that (as long as you don't cheat people) it is not only an excellent barometer of accomplishment, it is extraordinarily useful and even fun.

In a macro sense I believe the pursuit of money is very healthy, contrary to some popular beliefs, it actually encourages a society of people each working very hard to contribute.

In a micro sense I believe this pursuit of money is also very healthy, it gears your mind to focus on a standard of what legitimately is or is not worth doing. It is our goals that give us purpose and serve as a powerful way to bring out our power and productivity. I think it is wrong to condemn that.

Sure there's lots of things very much worth pursuing that money can't buy, but that doesn't make money any less worth pursuing.

Venkat's "Fools and their Money Metaphors":
> http://ribbonfarm.com/2009/03/02/fools-and-their-money-metaphors

Honestly I don't know for you. But I am sick and tired of always be apologetically about money. Like I should feel ashame of making a lot of money. Like money is the greatest evil that human has ever encountered. It is not money that is evil. Its the people that uses it to wrong ends. And this denotes a flaw in the person that uses the money, not money itself. Its just a peace of paper. I make money. I am proud of it. I earn every cent of it. And I didn't steel it to anyone. People have voluntary and freely paid me money because the work I provided to them was worth it. I am proud of my money and I aim for more. Not because money is an end in itself. If you believe that then you become a slave of money. Money is just a mean to an end. Use it wisely. I invite anyone who care to read it to the Fransisco Danconia's speech on money in Atlas Shrugged (Ayn Rand) at the following link: http://rahmisari.com/2008/02/29/francisco-danconias-speech-the-meaning-of-money/

Good comments here - yes, a good pursuit on an individual level and good in general. Cheers for commenting Judd.

I'm glad that the character Francisco d'Anconia's speech in Atlas Shrugged got brought up. I personally found it as an interesting take on society's negative view on pursuing and accumulating wealth, it's well worth a read. He notes that people consider money the root of all evil - but don't ask themselves what the root of all money is and argues that money is the result of the productivity of the individual and is exchanged for value between equals.

That's fine on a philosophical level, but I think adopting the 'value for value' mentality might also be helpful when negotiating a salary or making that sale. "This is what I'm offering, this is why it's good and I believe it's worth this much."

If you are offering and delivering value in the form of product or service why should you feel bad in accepting equal value in the form of money?

Good comment. This is question -

> If you are offering and delivering value in the form of product or service why should you feel bad in accepting equal value in the form of money?

I know you're being rhetorical, but that's really THE question, now isn't? Why DO people feel bad about accepting equal value for delivering value?

...intellectually I get it, probably most sane people get it. But why do people have hangups then? That's the question...

I just re-read that. Brilliant, brilliant stuff. Thanks for sharing Roy - I remember how much it struck me the first time I read it, and just got the same feeling again. Everyone should read that.

I don't possess a lot of stuff, but those things I have are usually of high quality (i.e. best laptop, ebook reader, camera, mobile phone).

But besides stuff, money can buy freedom as well - quite literary: if you are a citizen of a developing country and want to travel to a country in Europe - being wealthy makes it much easier to obtain a visa than any other way.

You can even "buy" a citizenship with more travel freedom using the Citizenship by Investment programs of St. Kitts & Nevis or Montenegro.

Thanks Sebastian. To answer your question. To be honest with you the only answer I have found to your question is related to either religion or values or a mix of both. I think that most people believe that it is a zero sum game. Therefore the more money I make is the more money I get away from the hand of others. Which, on a value and/or religious basis, is wrong because it it considered stealing. But this is a false thought. There is creation of wealth therefore it means that you don't steal your money, you're generating value with you work or product or service. Value that others are willing to pay for because this value is of some use to them. Therefore you trade value for value like Daniel said.
There is no reason to feel bad about the money you make. And there is no reason to feel bad about how you use money neither. The use of money is personal to anyone. If you want to spend your money on cars. So be it. Its your money. If you want to spend it on travel or education. Once again, go ahead. If you want to give part of you money to charity, be my guest. You earned it, you do what ever you want with it.

Finally I think that Boris said something very important that most people overlook: money buys you freedom! How many people do I see in the traffic in the morning, with one eye shut still sleepy and a super size coffee in the hand, heading for incipid work. Those are what I call the cubicle prisoners: going to work to get their fix. A fix that will last just enough to their next fix in two weeks. Ask them what their aspirations were when they were young. I am sure that they are all good people with good and grand intentions. But now their intentions are reduced to the money they make... and the debt they owe. Money sure is freedom.

I think there is a difference between having a problem with accepting payment for providing a service and having a problem gauging what that payment should be.

Perhaps I don't value the services I provide highly enough, but should the nature of what you provide influence what you get paid, or is it all simply a matter of getting paid what someone is willing to pay you? Do you think there is mostly a clear correlation between value delivered and payment received - an "equal" value? I would think this varies widely between cultures, fields of employment, etc.

Personally, I don't have a problem with being paid for work that I do, but I sometimes struggle with the value attached to it - do I feel awkward charging someone €60/h for a simple coding job, while a hospital nurse might make a quarter of that while looking after my kid when he's in hospital? Yes, oftentimes I do.

In terms of "money being the root of all evil", that does sound extreme. A softer version of that sentiment, however, might be someone objecting to a corporate executive cutting corners on safety in order to maximise profits (personal and shareholder), which in turn might lead to an accident (some might use this analogy for the BP oil spill). How does this square with equal value and the profit motive?

Sorry, this topic isn't one I usually philosophise a whole lot about, but I saw the link to the article posted by a friend on Facebook, I found it interesting and it raised a couple of thoughts.