The Philosophy Money of says that money gives us freedom: it provides literally a common currency for all different goods and services.  But some thinkers believe money is used to enslave working people - eloquently proven by Robert Tressell in "The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists" (towards the end of Chapter 21, The Great Money Trick).  The richest 1% of the people in the world own 50% of the wealth. They can't possibly spend it, but it gives them power.  Has amassing money become the goal for us all?  What's going on when an ex-Governor of The Bank of England says that money could be better directed to our real values (See his book reviewed and an interview)?