Truthfulness and Money (sequal to "On Truth")

Truthfulness measures the meaningfulness of a truth-value for a life form, as meaning cannot be dissociated from the life form that acknowledges it. The less meaningful the truth-value for life in general, the less meaningful it will be for most life forms.

In a system that runs on capital, i.e. capitalism, money is the most truthful of truth-values since it is (1) the most meaningful of values (2) for the greatest number of life forms. This predominance of money as truth-value is borne out by ordinary language (3) and the legal system (4).

(1) The most meaningful of values. Money is a measurable truth-value which also means that it is relative only to itself. It does not have to compete with non-measurable truth-values such as justice, beauty, spirit. All the more so that money is a condition of life—it is exempt from the battle of values. Because meaning is always meaning for a form of life, hence for life in general—all form of life presupposing life—money, as condition of life in capitalist society, is the most meaningful of values. In fact money is so meaningful for life in general that money becomes the criterion of meaning, so much so that the truthfulness of truth-values is measured in terms of their usefulness for making money.

(2) For the greatest number of life forms. It so happens that most activities in a capitalist society are directed toward making money—hence money is in fact the truth-value of all these activities as it is their end and their meaning. Moreover money, as material condition of life, is common to all life forms within the capitalist system (on an increasingly immaterial level.) One may speak of the universality of money for calculation, which money presupposes, is the universal language.

(3) The fact that the words price and value are used interchangeably testifies to this predominance of money as truth-value, as that which gives meaning to life forms and life and is suggested by the meanings of words, for instance, work, street, growth, order, free, wealth, interest, productive, profitable, transparency, health, autonomy, exchange, politics, charity, debt, security, justice, university, employment, public, private, art, science, technology, good, product, season, (full or part) time, food, trust (fund). I may say that money is that which makes life possible and what is suggested by the possible meaning of life (insurance).

(4) In law the link between money and life form is effected in the notion of solvency or wealth. It comprises all the rights, goods and obligations—as measurable in money—of a person; property rights, rights in personam, debts. The link between life forms is pecuniary in nature, obligational in character. It is perpetuated thanks to inheritance through which new forms of life succeed their predecessors. And what is litigation but a legally clothed extorsion of money?

To conclude, it may be the case that the only life form for whom money is not the most truthful, that is meaningful, of truth-values is the life-form (cf. essay of that name by Giorgio Agamben); indeed this life will be seen as non-sense by other life forms. Why? Because truth as such, truth-values, meaning can only be known by somebody who thinks. Only he therefore is in a position to detach himself from the capitalist confusion between value and money, between meaning and means, between truthfulness and usefulness. 1/5/0/2