The Genius of Money

Chapter 6: An Inventory of Polarities

In Chapter 6 of The Genius of Money, the author displays an artwork by Quentin Metsys of The Money Lender and His Wife. Within the painting there are several symbols of the social and religious realm of the time. It is mentioned that the painting is from the renaissance era, and it perfectly portrays many different social features of its time. In the portrait, the man is seen folding the money and the woman is seen with a religious piece. This reflects the societal view of women’s incapability to control money and finances during this time. The reading then explains the lessons that are meant to be shown throughout the painting. This artwork symbolizes a common Christian man and his wife with a representation of their daily lives. The details in the painting, such as the crucifix window reflection, show both the author’s creativity and reason for the painting.

One vital lesson behind the painting is that each exchange of coin had a story to tell about the “issuer, provenance, and value system.” For the money lender and his wife, money represented judgment. Their devotions, however, fell to the church. The author uses this example to show how times have changed and people now see banks as the new high priesthood. The fact that the woman’s attention is with the man and not her religious book shows the lust for wealth and the material world over the desire for devotion and the holy. The painting seems like a warning that the society is in danger with such values in place. The chapter ends with the explanation of the old man and child in the background. This is a representation of wisdom and acculturation being passed on to the next generation. Overall, this chapter helps us think about our own values and morals as well as how we are the example to our younger generations.

Chapter 14: The Touchstone and the Labyrinth

The main focus of this chapter is the real value of money. It really makes the reader think about what money is really worth when the author compares it to a touchstone and a labyrinth. Money makes the invisible visible because it brings together value with material goods. The touchstone and the labyrinth denote material meaning and purpose and are metaphors just, like money. The touchstone symbolizes the value of money; it is supposed to measure the value and the purity of the money. When money was backed by gold or when money was actually made of things from the earth, this analogy makes more sense, but now it is a lot harder to measure the purity of money. The Labyrinth is supposed to symbolize a person's journey while moving through life.

Bloom talks about meaning and explains it by saying; meaning is taken in as understanding. Then that understanding is turned into action. When talking about money, the “meaning” is actually referring to value. This value is present when people agree upon it, but has no meaning when not talked about. The stones from the labyrinths represent the currency, which then gives meaning to the journey that the path signifies. Bloom then compares this to the history of gold, and how gold came to have such a great value in our society. Gold served as the symbol of power and wealth in Egypt, which carried on to surrounding land as something valuable and meaningful.

In recent years, money is not represented the same as before. It is not a physical exchange anymore because it has really become invisible and speedily. With banks, ATMs, online services, and more, money has no real experiential value such as the touchstone and labyrinth. Money now and in the future will become increasingly “indistinguishable” from the rest of our experiences in the world.