Money's a funny thing... or is it?

I think many, if not most, of us are suspicious of banks and other financial institutions.  If we're not, in my view, we definitely should be.  Certainly those involved in all the "Occupy..." movements are not just suspicious; they know the top 1% (or whatever percentage it turns out to be) are crooks and evil to boot.  I make no secret of my own feelings on this, having preached that the world is run by 6 or 8 people my whole life - which is an allegory for the very small number of people with real and total power, to whom the rest of us are virtually lower forms of life to be manipulated with carrots and sticks.  So, no, money isn't funny, nor is it what we think it is.  Like shares, it is illusory.  For the real powers that be, the trick is to have many people having at least enough to survive so they won't be on the bottom and will always be able to aspire to upward mobility, no matter how likely or unlikely that might be.  Those on the bottom will be so busy surviving they won't be able to do much to change things.  If revolution happens it will usually be replacing one dictator with another and going nowhere near my '6 at the top'.  For an interesting view, have a look at this article in The Guardian: The truth is out: money is just an IOU, and the banks are rolling in it