Topic Battle

Money is ruthlessly democratic in its accessibility. Anyone can earn it, spend it, lose it, or accumulate it. The barriers to entry are essentially non-existent - even children understand its basic function. Money does not discriminate by worthiness or moral character; it flows to whoever can attract it through labour, luck, or inheritance. This universal accessibility is both its greatest strength and its most troubling feature.

Money's reach is virtually absolute. From the trading floors of Wall Street to the most remote village markets, currency in some form facilitates nearly every human transaction. The global financial system processes over $6.6 trillion daily in foreign exchange alone. Money transcends borders, languages, and cultures with remarkable efficiency. It requires no translation, no cultural context, no explanation. A dollar, euro, or yen speaks a universal language that every civilisation has learned to understand.

Money's destructive capabilities are insidious and far-reaching. Financial crises have devastated nations - the 2008 collapse erased $2 trillion in global economic output. Hyperinflation has reduced currencies to wallpaper. The pursuit of wealth has driven colonisation, exploitation, and environmental destruction on scales that would make Ragnarok seem a localised inconvenience. Yet money destroys slowly, systematically, often invisibly - its victims rarely see the blow coming.

Money symbolises human ambition in its rawest form - the desire for security, status, and power distilled into tangible tokens. It represents both the best of human cooperation and the worst of human greed. In literature and philosophy, money serves as a mirror reflecting our values, whether we worship it excessively or reject it entirely. Its symbolism is complex and often contradictory, much like humanity itself.

Individual currencies rise and fall with remarkable regularity. The Roman denarius, Spanish real, and countless others have vanished into numismatic collections. Yet the concept of money has persisted for approximately 5,000 years, evolving from Mesopotamian grain receipts to cryptocurrency. Money adapts, transforms, and survives because it fulfils a fundamental human need for exchange and value storage. Its form changes; its function endures.