The Power and Freedom of Money: A Simple Look

I posted an article by DJ Campbell here a while back, about tax-cuts and the negative aspect that people seem to be too naive to see. Well, I have another piece by DJ that I’d like to share on the power and freedom of money.

“The life, power and freedom you have are given to you by other people, and theirs is given by you. The way we give and receive power, freedom and the basics we need to survive is with money, and those systems created to exchange it: markets and the economy.

So those things we value are quantified by and exchanged for money. In real terms a person’s or object’s dollar (monetary) value is its real value to people, when that person or object is compared to other people or objects. And those humans we value more have a greater say in whom else, and what else, is valued.

There are three things I want to discuss on this topic. One is that money is always being wielded, and it is those who think about its effect on others that have their values realised. Essentially, if you want to end poverty or stop global warming you must think about how you spend your money, to whom you hand over control of it, and for whom you earn it. This is Power.

Secondly, I want to talk about the fact that money and the systems that transfer it (markets and economies) are beliefs. They are not physical things, but communal beliefs and can be controlled by will. If we change what we believe, our communal actions can change. This is Freedom.

Thirdly, a thorough knowledge of the first two can enable co-operation among large groups of people to achieve common goals, without using harmful economic and political strategies to enforce change. Revolution”.

To read the rest of DJ’s great article, check it out over at JeSaurai.net.

50 Cent: File Sharing Doesn’t Hurt Artists

I am not much of a 50 Cent, let along, R’n'B fan but he certainly puts it well:

Q: “How are G-Unit Records doing in these times of file-sharing?

“Not so good….The advances in technology impacts everyone, and we all must adapt. Most of all hip-hop, a style of music dependent upon a youthful audience. This market consists of individuals embracing innovations faster than the fans of classical and jazz music.”

“What is important for the music industry to understand is that this really doesn’t hurt the artists.”

“A young fan may be just as devout and dedicated no matter if he bought it or stole it.”

“The concerts are crowded and the industry must understand that they have to manage all the 360 degrees around an artist. They, (the industry), have to maximize their income from concerts and merchandise. It is the only way they can get their marketing money back.”

“The main problem is that the artists are not getting as much help developing as before file-sharing. They are now learning to peddle ringtones, not records..They don’t understand the value of a perfect piece of art.”


The Gifts For Him.com.au

Swivel - The Rise and Fall of Vinyl, Cassettes and CD

I thought I’d hijack a post by Nick Gonzalez, of the Running with Foxes blog.

Having majored in economics, I’ve been a fan of Swivel from the start. They’re solving the problem of easily displaying data online, which I had to deal with myself as an intern at an economic development office back in college.

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I’ve been perusing the site and came across this particularly striking graph that shows the gentle rise and fall of sales of vinyl, cassette, CD, and iPod sales as one format replaces the other (unfortunately itunes sales were not pegged). CD sales seem to have peaked after a steep rise out of the eighties and into the nineties. But the more interesting part is the decline in sales. Looking at the slopes and peaks for each of the formats, you can see that the peaks are becoming steeper and the transitions quicker. People are continually choosing the more portable format.

The decline in CD sales is happening, and it’s only a matter of time before CD’s are the domain of audiophiles (At least DJs still use vinyl). Eyeballing it, CDs seem to have another 10 years till they’re phased out of the mainstream, although it could come sooner.

I’d be interested to see how the same data compares for video sales.

Quite the interesting read. I’m interested to see the sales/adoption graph of each of the Apple iPods.

PJG