Mark Moss argues that being broke means you haven't contributed enough value to the world. He uses a barter example: helping a friend move creates an IOU, which becomes currency in a larger market. Dollars are just IOUs for value you've provided. If you're broke, you're taking more than you're giving.
If you're broke, it shows how selfish you are. What do I mean by that? If you think about world in a barter economy, if I came over to your house and I helped you move, that's a pretty big deal. It's a lot of value provided to you, and you might feel like you owe me a favor. If I helped you move one day, you might introduce me to somebody or take me to dinner or something, right? You owe me a favor. But that's a barter. What if I don't want a favor from you right then? Well, maybe you'll give me an IOU, like, hey, Mark, uh, Nicole owes Mark a favor. So now I have this IOU certificate for a favor, but that's still a barter economy, coincidence of once. What if I don't want a favor from you? Well, what if there was a market where I could trade those IOUs? So I could get an IOU for somebody else, and then I can give them a cool IOU. That's what dollars are. Yeah. So if I spent every weekend going and helping 2 friends move per weekend, and I was just stacking up IOUs— Nicole, look at all these people I've helped move! Look at all these IOUs! Would you think I'm a generous person? I've helped all— not if you're doing it for the IOUs. Okay, let's take out the incentives. But my point is, is like, man, why is Mark just all the time helping all these people moving, painting fences? Like, I mean, I would think you're generous, right? Look, wow, look at— he's doing all that, right? And you could see it because I have all these favors, all this goodwill that I've put into the world, and I've consumed less goodwill than I've earned, right? I haven't used all the IOUs. These are the IOUs I have left over. I'm helping everybody move and no one's helping me move. I don't need it. I'm just giving, okay? But that's what dollars are. You see, when I solve your problem, if I paint your fence, you don't give me an IOU, you give me dollars. If I help you move, you give me dollars. You don't owe me an IOU, right? And so you think about it that way. Dollars are the certificates for an IOU. And that's why I say that if you're broke, it shows how selfish you are. You're not putting any value into the world. You're at Donald.
