Money

Everyone’s talking about money on this little corner of the blogosphere.  Frater POS doesn’t think teachers should charge.  Frater RO (rather predictably) disagrees.  Everyone’s got an opinion.

Mine?  Money doesn’t pollute.  Money doesn’t corrupt.  It’s just a token, a symbol of value.  Why wouldn’t you want to pay someone who does you a service?  By the same token, yes, someone might choose to do such a service — teach someone magic, act as a clergyman, etc. — without receiving that particular token of value.  But trust me, if value exists in teaching, there is an exchange.  I’ve volunteered to teach mundane subjects, and I’ve been paid to teach them.  Neither is better than the other; both are useful, both have value.

The idea that money, itself, is a polluting influence is pernicious nonsense, unexamined balderdash passed on from one dogmatic thinker to another.  People get greedy for money.  They get greedy for love, greedy for power, and greedy for donuts.  It doesn’t matter what the token of value is: what matters is the greed or lack thereof.

I pay my mortgage.  That doesn’t pollute the value of my house.

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