Exploring the morality of actions when removing money's influence

In this thought experiment, we dive into how money colors our moral judgments by looking at how our opinions about actions change when we strip away their monetary context.

"Would we morally judge this exact action differently if there was no money involved?"

I call it the money-free thought experiment.

• The waiter who is deferentially serving all these people every day
• The people who wake up and go to work every day, doing something that they don't want
• The way friends treat each other differently when one owes the other money
• The way collectors, bank managers, and other agents will treat others based on their balance and debts
• The way salespeople and executives will treat others based on their credit and intent to buy

It's just interesting to pretend the money isn't there and look at the actions alone.

And how we'd judge them morally differently.

Reflecting on donations and actions of charity

Once a year, I'd dress up as Santa and visit kids in this orphanage to give them the gifts we had raised money to buy.

One particular year, we were off 80% of the money to buy gifts. Everybody was having a hard time contributing or raising the money. We were doing well financially that year, so we purchased the rest of the gifts.

Now, sure, I gave the money that bought these gifts. But if you remove the money from the equation, I didn't really do anything. Someone sewed shirts, pants, and shoes, and someone built firetrucks, dolls, and puzzles.

Not me.

In a way of thinking, I told these people who actually did all the work, the actual creation of the clothes and toys, to give those creations to these particular kids. I told them to do it, and they did it – because of my money.

From this perspective, money is just a vehicle for telling people what to do and who to do it for. But the other people are the ones actually doing it.

In that particular orphanage year, I also did something: I dressed as Santa, with an itchy false beard and hot costumes due to importing winter traditions to our summer, and called each kid by their name, talked to them, gave them gifts, and took pictures.

Of course, no money was changing hands in that case. I actually just wanted to do it. When the guy who used to dress as Santa stopped going, I volunteered and became the guy who dressed as Santa until I stopped going.

In a world where we're thinking regardless of money, this money-free thought experiment, I dressed up as Santa, but most of the work was from all the people creating all these gifts given to the kids in the first place.

Debt and moral confusion

In Debt—The First 5000 Years, the late David Graeber analyzes the moral confusion caused by debt and the historical connections between debt and violence.

I'm particularly fond of this passage:

If history shows anything, it is that there’s no better way to justify relations founded on violence, to make such relations seem moral, than by reframing them in the language of debt — above all, because it immediately makes it seem that it’s the victim who’s doing something wrong.

Graeber, David. Debt (p. 16). Melville House. Kindle Edition.

What David is getting at is similar to my exploration above: "If you take the money out of the equation, as a money-free thought experiment, and look at people's moral actions, how does this look?"

What justifiable action, when taking money away, seems reprehensible?

What virtuous action, when taking money away, seems void?

Credit and moral confusion

My wife does something remarkable.

She knows the birthday of all of our favorite restaurant's staff (8 total), and every year, on each of their birthdays, she buys a cake; we go to the restaurant later in the day and sing happy birthday to them after everybody leaves and before they close up shop.

Now, the cake is expensive, and she could buy it and have it delivered to the restaurant, maybe with a nice card.

Instead, we go there, talk to the staff, have them store the cake in the fridge until everyone leaves, sing with everybody (our happy birthday song is much more upbeat than Americans'), and leave late and happy.

How different is it? How much of a difference is giving some cake shop a list of 8 days in the year and saying, "On these days, send a cake to this address, to this name, and write a card on ChatGPT." How much is that different from what my wife does?

How virtuous is each action in a money-free thought experiment? After all, it's not like my wife is baking any cakes.

She does bake delicious cakes, by the way, just not on these particular occasions.

A money-free look at actions

I hadn't realized a fact until I thought about it now: My wife and I, my parents, and my in-laws have all been quite poor and relatively rich in different stages of our lives.

I have been debtor and creditor to faceless banks, corporations, friends, and family.

I know what it's like to act differently when I'm in one's debt: the deference, the biting lip, the daily acting against my will.

I also realize what it's like to influence, or even require, someone to act a particular way because they're in my debt. That's much harder to be self-aware of, though; I'm sure I fail constantly.

So here's today's reflection for all of us. It's easy:

1 - Think of your actions today and in the past few days. They must be actions you did, not just money changing hands.

e.g., Conversations at work and other work you did, eating out at a restaurant, working out with your gym trainer, getting your nails done, etc.

2 - Think about your actions from a money-free perspective. Working on your job, asking the waiter for your order, asking your trainer to spot your exercise.

Does looking at these actions money-free change how you morally judge your actions?

Does what you thought was virtuous become innocuous?

3 - Now think about other people's actions towards you. Your manager, peers, and direct reports collaborating with you, the cook and server preparing your food, and your instructor helping you be healthier.

Does looking at these actions money-free change how you judge their actions?

Does what you thought was expected become appreciated?

What you thought justifiable become reprehensible?

The real world is not money-free, of course

Of course, the real world is not a money-free world, nor should it be. There are real debts and credits, financial and otherwise.

But it's still interesting to look at our own and others' actions from a money-free lens and ask ourselves:

"If not for the money involved, how would I judge this moral action?"