Non-Capital Wealth: On the Transformation of Money Into Its Other Forms

When we spend money what is it that were buying? Most of the time were not buying more money. Instead were buying the necessary items for health leisure or security. We trade in talents labor or relationships. Where many of us struggle to make enough money we still manage to obtain the things we need through our relationships with others the use of our skills for their benefit or the attitudes we adopt for needing to buy whatever it is in the first place. This book takes our old notions of money and tacks on three other kinds of capital--social psychological and emotional--and explains why despite what weve been taught these are not interchangeable with money. The difference is in how abstract the things were measuring might be and whether we can agree on the worth of those things. When you cant easily agree on a things worth or abstractness you cant easily use money.So many of our money-related dreams dont depend on money at all.In fact using the wrong kind of capital can actually take *away* from those dreams (as in buying friends or feeling a skill instead of practicing it).This book lays out the four forms of capital and how you can develop them. Once weve discussed everything on the individual level we move over to micromarkets--little mini-markets where you and a few friends can trade your skills towards something beyond the job. Finally we discuss a perspective on different socioeconomic levels and advance a programmatic solution to the growing problem of (capital) inequality in our society.This book contains activities that you can use as practical steps towards separating the parts of your goals that use or dont use money. Its aim is to help the reader truly follow alternative routes to the life her or she would love to lead--regardless of how much traditional wealth may be available.