The Nature of Money

Money is the allocation of resources, and I often think of it as malloc in C. I believe this is the essence of money. Unfortunately, many people only see "money" when they look at it, without considering what it represents. This can lead to blind spots when it comes to viewing money.

For example, if you were alone on a deserted island with 10 million, you still wouldn't be able to do anything because money cannot be converted into resources. You can only rely on your own abilities to gather resources, and in this case, money is useless. The above example illustrates the two main characteristics of money: resource allocation and exchange. Exchange (or trade) is the key to the effectiveness of money, while resource allocation is what money represents.

Once you understand this, you realize that the amount of money does not actually reflect the abundance of resources. There is only so much food, so much oil, so much labor, and it doesn't change just because more money is printed. Therefore, I see savings and investments as "control over future time and resources," but from the perspective of resource allocation, it inevitably compresses your allocation to other things, such as buying less coffee or games.

I don't want to live in a world where everyone is rich; that's not something we should pursue, and it's meaningless. I want to live in a world where money truly rewards those who create value, as that is the true way to progress society.