Moral Currency

Love. Truth. Power. Justice. Harmony.

There is a word, a concept, a primal driver inside every person. Scripture calls it the Pearl of Great Price. It’s the thing for which a person will give just about everything they have in life to have. For lack of a better term, let’s call it moral currency. Just like regular currencies, there are different exchange rates and different value of those currencies between persons. Furthermore, just as in currencies, there are counterfeits in each of these moral currencies.

Some are driven by love. There are many types of love, for which the English language is woefully lacking in characterizing beyond adjectives: friendly love, erotic love, compassionate love, etc. In fact, most of us have a sense of “love” that does not resemble anything like what anyone else believes. The counterfeit is a need, or feeding fear of a lack of affection, acceptance, soothing young wounds, etc. True love is from within. It has discernment and sometimes does not feel very good, quite honestly. To behave rationally and against our desired feelings for the other person is true love. The descriptor, “true” is also a currency.

Truth is another currency. Truth is unchanging, axiomatic, reproducible irrespective of desire, feelings, or will. What is true has to be perceived, and it is the machinery of perception that colors truth, possibly creating counterfeits. Context can change the perception of truth. Where there is misunderstanding, there is often a conflict of contexts. As with gravity, context loses effect with functional distance. The context of truth applies more when it is closer to one’s actual existence. From an existential standpoint, there are aspects of truth that are unchanging, unmovable, regardless of context. The counterfeit to truth is created when contexts are manipulated for ego-gratification. Toxic persons might peddle their version of truth to serve their own currencies.

Power is a relative currency. It is dependent upon the existence of others. Some want power over others. Others, knowingly or unknowingly, give their power away at every turn. When used productively, power energizes, creating synergies that are above and beyond the sum of the sources. When applied for self-gratification and personal gain, it manifests as gamesmanship and drama for its own sake. Machiavellian persons enjoy conniving situations and using others as marionettes for no purpose than to create suffering, to show force. It is a rare person whose primary currency is power who are able to manage it to create positive contributions. As such, every society has created systems of justice to manage distribution of power, not to say that their premises are necessarily equal or fair.

Some are driven by justice. Even young children demonstrate an understanding of fairness and look upon it more favorably for the most part. There are different types of justice and fairness, and it behooves one to discern the subtleties. For example, equality of opportunity does not necessarily produce equality of outcomes. Nor does equality of effort produce equality of results, due to differing circumstances and baselines. To demand that all things are equal is to live in a very narrow spectrum that will cause anxiety, frustration, disappointment, etc. However, to seek justice that puts opportunity, effort, results and outcomes in proper perspective, applied as fairly as possible for all persons, respects natural order.

Many seek harmony or peaceful cooperation in all relationships. To interact with courtesy and kindness is an art form, as it requires empathy, understanding, patience. The dark side of this currency is an aversion to conflict and confrontation. Those who are unable to manage conflict or confrontation will fall prey to those whose primary currency is power and manipulation. Music is more interesting when dissonance is resolved to harmony. By allowing some tension to build, resolution becomes more satisfying.

We have financial systems using currencies and justice systems defining morality. The art of human relationships requires moral currencies in good measure. What are your moral currencies and how well does it perform in relation to others? Perhaps it is time we assess personal wealth in these terms.