The saying goes : look after the pennies, and the pounds will look after themselves. For a long time, I never agreed with this idea. Surely pounds are worth more than pennies? How can looking after a little amount be worth more than looking after a big amount

This is a bit of a paradox, which can be seen by simply observing Zimbabwe and Nazi Germany. To think pounds are more important than pennies is like believing that trees are worth more than seeds. If you have a big impressive tree that does not yield any seed, then you have a short term benefit, that becomes worthless in the long term.

Pennies are more important than pounds for the same reason. We live in a society that devalues children. Children start by counting pennies. If you sneer at a child and her pennies, then she will soon start sneering at your pounds to get one up on you, only considering thousands to be of value. Before you know it, you will have hyper inflation, then soon your entire currency becomes worthless, like a tree that does not bare fruit, and like a woman who only gives birth to abortions.

South Africa has already discarded its 1c and 2c pieces. This is the beginning of disaster. We must bring back 1c and 2c pieces, even if they are made of plastic, or (better still) little bits of precious stones. Otherwise we set a precedent for future generations that will have dire consequences.

Do not be mesmerized by big numbers. Money is after all, just a measuring device to value trade. Ideally all trade should use a barter system to avoid things like inflation. But money allows people who have nothing to start their financial lives, without as easily being victimized by hoarding.

Do we consider millimeters unimportant because we are big people now? No. Exact measurement offers precision, and precision is essential to efficiency.

Observe the British pound, the most powerful currency for the last 200 years. Why? Because each penny counts more than the pounds. Is it better to have ever increasing high prices in pounds? Or would it be better if things only cost a penny?

Your actions are not isolated. Many would prefer it if they had the pounds and others have the pennies. But if you think others are not going to follow your example, then you are unobservant. Eventually you will be old, and you will have to rely on those you considered worthless. Few people will offer you grace when you have offered them ingratitude. Those you have short-changed, will rob you quicker than quick, and your offspring too.

So what? You say. I'll just be dead then.

What makes you so sure? Science has the capacity to advance infinitely, and sooner or later you will be brought back from the dead. Even if it is in a million years time, it is a guarantee as obvious as 1+1=2. The one thing society is united in, is conquering death. The tone you set in this single lifetime will reverberate forever through eternity.

In a world where death is supreme, people will only take what they can, and stuff the consequences. And yet our society would die if everyone lived only for themselves. But society for the most part improves. Thus most people, most of the time give more than they take. The logic of survival, is not survival of the fittest. It is survival of the generous and the benevolent. The alternative is disaster.

If everyone gave a bit more than they took, we would be in paradise. If everyone took more than they gave, civilization would collapse. This is the logic of ethics. Ethic is the most important form of logic.

You should never ask for more money, unless you are offering more value. Given the precedent of recent years, you will now have to go further to compensate : Instead, offer more value for the same amount. Then your currency increases in value, and you too will be offered more in exchange for less. Eventually, even this idea will need to be tempered to a balanced state.

Billionaires cause inflation. Modest people create a healthy lifestyle. But someone has to count the billions, its just more of a burden than a boon. Because others become jealous. Billionaires are essential to mass production. But if you have billions and you offer nothing in return, then you are a cancer. If you have billions, but are giving more than you are taking, then you are a Nobleman, or a King.

If all the branches in a tree were as thick as the trunk, then the tree would fall over : This is the failure of Capitalism.

But if the trunk becomes as thin as the branches for the sake of equality, then the tree withers and dies : This is the failure of Communism.

What is the best compromise? Meritocracy. Yes, but only to a point. We cannot all be bankers. We cannot all be brain surgeons. Structure is vital. Functionalism is as close to a theory this gets. The real meat of life is richer than any theory. Give what you can give. Take only that which you need. Be honest. Consider others. Manipulation for self gain is disastrous. Telling the truth is not enough, that truth must be tempered by the failures of others. A white lie is worth more than a vicious debilitating truth.

Oh ja, now I remember, these ideas used to be called religion.