I have recently seen the movie, In Time. It directly makes the connection: time = money. Of course, the observation that "time is money" is not a new thought. In fact, this observation is said to have originated with Benjamin Franklin. That makes it a particularly American notion.
The virtue of the movie (of course it has the seemingly obligatory car chases, too) is the wonderful way that In Time is able to dramatize what the saying, "time is money," really means. Because our life is nothing more than the time we have (see George Fox on that), when we run out time, we actually run out of life. The result of running out of time, and life (when time is counted as money) is what the movie calls "timing out," and what it has dramatized so well.
If money is equivalent to life itself, which is what the "time is money" statement actually seems to say (and what the movie dramatizes so strikingly), then it might make sense for us to be sure that there is some basic "equality" in the way that the money is distributed.
In Time is really exploring that 1% / 99% split, and poses the question whether that kind of differential should be permitted to continue.
In Time: at your movie theaters now. Recommended despite the car chases.
The real dilemma posed for our lives (and in the film) is the realization that money is time rather than the generally false realization that time is money. That money is time is a correct understanding in our social experience, since people with money live longer (more time) and better than those without money (less time) when holding genetics constant. The poor face more risky situations in life and have less access to health care to prolong it. The result is less time per life.
ReplyDeleteThere is an exception to the generally false view that time is money in the market for organ donations, pharmaceutical drug experimentation participation and sacrificial behavior on behalf of others. In these situations, time is exchanged for money for use for other purposes.
All good points! Thank you.
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