David Bazelon: Paper Printed Dreams
on Monday, December 3, 2012David T. Bazelon Money Quote saying we somehow believe that money is a real, concrete, useful object in itself, when it is instead an abastraction that represents what it will buy. David T. Bazelon said:
“Money: A dream, a piece of paper on which is imprinted in invisible ink the dream of all the things it will buy, all the trinkets and all the power over others” — David T. Bazelon
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In this quote, David T. Bazelon is characterizing money as essentially representing dreams, aspirations and potential rather than having intrinsic value itself. He views money as a physical manifestation of hopes – a piece of paper imprinted with “invisible ink” symbolizing all that could potentially be obtained through exchange, whether trivial “trinkets” or influence over others.
Bazelon’s point is that money only has meaning because as a society we collectively agree and believe in what it promises, not because the paper or coins have use on their own. The quote conveys that money allows us to dream and project our desires onto it, seeing in its abstract form all that it might buy if exchanged for goods, services or power.
So in essence, Bazelon sees money as fundamentally symbolic of dreams, wants and imagined possibilities rather than a real commodity in a tangible sense.
Birthday: September 3, 1909 – Death: February 19, 1993