Where did the monetary system really come from?
The Monetary System, the system that rules so to say everything we do today.
Not the technical version. Not coins, banks, or stock markets.
But the mindset behind it.
Because systems don’t just appear. They are expressions of how we think.
The Birth of Measurement
Before measurement, there was no concept of “having more.” There was no counting of grain, no tally of cattle, and no dividing of land into owned pieces.
People lived within nature, not above it. Food was gathered, shared, and consumed. Shelter was built and used. Time was experienced, not tracked.
Life moved in cycles—seasons, daylight, weather, migration. There was no need to assign numbers to everything, because survival was not based on accumulation, but participation.
Then, at some point in human history, something subtle shifted.
We began to measure. Grain, cattle, land, and time were no longer just observed, but quantified.
Not just to understand the world—but to secure it.
Because fear had entered the picture. The fear of not having enough, and the fear that nature might not provide tomorrow what it provides today.
And with that fear came a powerful ally: our rational mind. The same part of us that could observe, compare, and measure also became the part that tried to control and secure.
This is where the ego took form—not as something evil, but as the part of us that feels fear and seeks certainty.
So measurement was no longer just curiosity. It became protection.
From that, ownership was born. Then trade. Then money. And eventually, an entire system built on quantifying life itself.
The Fear Beneath It
Why did we do this?
Because part of us didn’t trust life. It didn’t trust nature, and it didn’t trust that tomorrow would provide.
So it tried to control, to store, to accumulate, and to protect.
But something else happened at the same time. As fear grew, so did the ego—the part of us that identifies, compares, and separates.
It began to say: “I must secure more. I must not fall behind. I must protect what is mine.”
Accumulation became not just practical, but psychological. The more you had, the safer you felt. The more you controlled, the more secure you seemed.
Over time, this scaled. Individuals accumulated. Families accumulated. Groups accumulated.
Until entire hierarchies emerged.
Kings, rulers, and empires were not random accidents, but natural extensions of the same fear.
Because if security comes from having more, then those who have the most appear the safest.
And so they were not only obeyed—they were admired.
Even when they were brutal.
Most people did not rise against them. They accepted the structure and instead dreamed of rising within it. They aspired to become nobles, lords, barons, or dukes, while most others remained where they were—struggling, working, and surviving.
And that pattern has never really disappeared.
Today, the forms have changed, but the mindset remains. We no longer dream of becoming kings. We dream of becoming billionaires, celebrities, and icons of wealth.
Not necessarily because we need more, but because we fear having less.
Fear of loss. Fear of falling behind. Fear of tomorrow.
The same fear that gave birth to the monetary system still drives it today.
The Self-Reinforcing Loop
The monetary system was created by the monetary mindset—and over time, it has grown into something far more powerful than its origin.
It is no longer just a reflection of fear. It has become a machine that multiplies it.
The same mindset that gave rise to measurement, ownership, and accumulation has now been embedded into the very structure of society. And that structure continuously feeds it back to us.
It constantly tells us that we need more more more. More security. More money. More control. More property.
It rewards accumulation and quietly punishes lack. It measures our worth through what we have, and in doing so, it keeps the fear alive.
A self-reinforcing loop emerges: fear creates the system, and the system amplifies the fear and the ego.
And the consequences of that loop have been immense.
Much of human conflict and war has been driven by control over resources, land, and wealth. Nations, empires, and corporations have competed—not just for survival, but for dominance within the same framework.
At the same time, the system has driven inequality, where some accumulate far beyond their needs while others struggle for basic security.
It has driven relentless extraction from the planet, leading to pollution, environmental degradation, and the destabilization of natural systems.
And on a personal level, it has created disease, stress, pressure, and a constant sense that what we have is never quite enough.
So we accumulate more—not necessarily because we need to, but because the system teaches us that we must.
More income. More assets. More things. More gadgets, TVs and phones. More protection against an uncertain future.
And the more we participate in it, the more natural it feels.
Until the mindset that created the system begins to feel like reality itself.
The Other Part of Us
But that fearful mindset is not all we are.
There is another part—the part that trusts. The part that recognizes that nature already operates in balance, that ecosystems function without money, and that life, when not interfered with, organizes itself.
This part does not ask, “How much can I secure?” It asks, “How can I participate?”
And it has been with us all along—quiet, often ignored, but never gone.
Something Is Shifting
Today, something interesting is happening.
We are beginning to trust again—not blindly, but consciously.
We see cooperation working. We see technology making scarcity less real. We begin to understand that many of the world’s biggest problems are not physical, but systemic.
They are created by the very mindset that once tried to protect us. The system is the mindset. The monetary system = the monetary mindset.
Using the Ego… Differently
The solution is not to destroy the ego.
The ego gave us logic, structure, and precision. The problem is not the tool, but the fear driving it.
So what if we keep the intelligence, but remove the fear?
What if we used our ability to measure, organize, and optimize not to secure ourselves against each other, but to create a world that works for everyOne?
Beyond the Monetary Mindset
A different system becomes possible.
One where resources are optimized, shared and managed, not owned, where access replaces trade, and where collaboration replaces competition.
Not because we become saints, but because we finally align our systems with how life actually works.
The Real Question
The monetary system did not come from nowhere. It came from us—from a part of us that was trying to survive.
But we are no longer in that same world.
So the question is no longer, “How do we make the monetary system better?”
But:
Are we ready to move beyond the mindset that created it and create a new system instead?
That is exactly what humanity have done in the novel Waking Up – A journey towards a new dawn for humanity.
👉 Follow Benjamin Michaels into that world where that shift has already happened and experience it for yourself:
