Believe-in-You Money

CHAPTER 6

Restorative, Mutually Beneficial versus Unequal Power Dynamics

When Lil’ Kim said, “Money, power, respect are the keys to life,” I believed her. Economically speaking, money is power. Money buys goods and allows us to get what we want—if we have the money. If we don’t have the money, we must have access to credit to get by. Without either, the ability to protect and provide for oneself lessens, and the possibility of being exploited increases. This paves the way for power to be taken from people of lesser financial means.

We don’t have enough conversations about the power dynamics of money. Those that have it wield a level of influence in the world that directs political outcomes and shapes the social destinies of strangers across ...