6The Myopia of Money
Why is the commons invisible? Why does an air conditioner—and the electricity it uses—count in the computations of economic product, but not the cooling provided by shade trees? Why does Disneyland count, but not a local park? Prozac, but not communities that provide human connection and comfort without pharmaceutical products?
The reason, in a word, is money. What is called economics today is the world as seen through the myopic lens of money. If something is transacted through money it has reality; if not, it doesn’t exist. It makes no difference that trees provide shade and neighbors provide comfort. Neither is sold for money, and therefore they don’t count. As a result, the more our economy displaces that which is free ...
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