“A society is decaying as long as it focuses on money, which is the effect, and disrespects the cause, the producer. Money is the symbol and fruit of labour, and it should be appreciated as such. It represents the productive potential, but it is not the potential: in short, money is ‘dead’ in a sense that it is the earned potential converted into purchasing power. It is only the means and not the end. Therefore a virtue can create more money but no virtue can only store and loose it. Thus nothing is left when the money is gone if the potential (virtue) is gone.”

Money
How Does Money Acquire its Value?