[vc9999]

Money has no intrinsic value

[imtringued]

Our money system is basically an accounting system. It's like a spreadsheet. Of course, nobody is silly enough to eat the spreadsheet. The point is that we track who owes us things and who we owe things.

[threatripper]

We link it to valuable things by constructs like contracts. This way money acts like a thing of value. For most practical purposes money is more useful than specific physical things because usually you can always convert money into anything you need at the time and place you need it. Money loses its practical value if you cannot convert it anymore.

[handrous]

Trivially true, as value isn't intrinsic in the first place.

Now do human lives.

[southerntofu]

I think the parent's point was that a complex society can exist without money without any obvious/unavoidable downsides. It's just a layer of abstraction that's useful for ensuring some people have more than others, but does not serve any function in a society of abundance where resources are more accessible to anyone regardless of "class" (monetary barriers or other forms of social status, disconnected from actual needs).