What struck me about the exchange was Jean Luc Picard explaining to Lily that twenty-fourth century human beings no longer place emphasis on the accumulation of wealth. I feel with more intensity than ever before that economics has invaded our lives to such an extent that it is more and more in control. It seems that everything we do, how we relate to each other, what we see as our future, and how we view ourselves, is tied to economics. Karl Marx wrote, Objects in themselves are external to man, and consequently alienable by him. In order that this alienation may be reciprocal, it is only necessary for men, by a tacit understanding, to treat each other as private owners of those alienable objects, and by implication as independent individuals.
Money is an object and money is external to people.
I not only suspect that money is by its very nature alienable to people, but that it is the root by which we alienate ourselves from each other. By dominating or manipulating others, we get the extra energy we think we need. Sure, it feels good - but both parties are damaged in the conflict. So many people experience all relationships in terms of economics. I am the son, the only child, of immigrant Polish parents.