A hypothetical world: maybe a reality?

Over the course of the pandemic, one of the main (but not only) aspects of recovery has been to revive from personal and business losses, in commercial as well as non monetary aspects. The classic cliché on whether or not money can buy happiness is most certainly subjective, but a lot more emphasis is laid on the emotional sense of security it supposedly brings.

Now that things are starting to get better, with a phase wise unlock, provided pandemic protocols are still in place, or at least is attempted to be mandated, the economic space is something we cannot ignore. The aggregate impact of the pandemic in a general context has been quite disruptive. During the course of lockdown, intrigued by the growing craze around cryptocurrency and trading (okay maybe I'd prefer investing over trading) I was amazed by the trust the system had created, especially the Bitcoin rage: definitely something I'd invest time and effort in. A certain financial institution, more famous than its operations, known for routing scams, still enjoys the trust built in by the public, although I never quite understood how. Come to think of it, the idea of money has its roots embedded into trust and acceptance.

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My brother and I often have thought provoking debates on the most random prompts imaginable, sparking up our 2am brain power. One such night, he asked, what if, a big if that is, we lived in a world where the whole idea of money was just wiped out of existence? Yes, I know what you're thinking, the barter system. A hypothetical world wherein the needs of everyone are met, out of pure empathy to live in a more sustained world. Controversial business dimensions of being power/ money hungry is erased, rather, they tend to operate out of genuine moral fiber. This may sound extremely bizarre, but also arguably creates a vast gap in terms of so called social status, coupled with a multitude of add on worries that get the best of us.

At first thought, if this sounds rather impractical, we are on the same page. But I'll admit, it's interesting to think about. Something that we use more so often for survival, almost as our lives depend on it, has so much power than intended. As any economist or anybody for that matter would say, a 100 rupee note is only valued because of the common acceptance it holds by the law and its people alike. We have the good old notion being thrown around as to why don't we just print more money; which, by the way as a commerce student, comes off a wee bit captivating.

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Value, in itself is a pretty intriguing idea, that ranges and is quite subjective, depending on a plethora of factors. But there are some elements such as currency, the value of which may be the same, but the necessity of which invariably varies to a great extent. One such aspect that stroke my mind on the same is the pandemic. From tens to thousands, a life is sought to be valued more than what money can define.

The pandemic, more than ever has introduced in itself a dynamic version of survival. Maybe this is a way of understanding the value of human and human emotion, that does not come with a price tag. If you sparked 'insurance' as you read the last line on assigning a monetary value, quite controversial and away from the topic, but quite frankly the idea of insurance seems quite trivial to me.

Nevertheless, the emphasis on value and resilience from the pandemic strikes to be beneficial.