From a recent conversation ... Money works quite well for accomplishing certain things in a certain way. Yet it is designed to be scarce, and hence fosters a me-versus-you mindset. That puts a ceiling on the things it can do. Some basic human values like care, compassion and empathy are difficult to commoditize because they aren't scare and don't have neat boundaries. As soon as you try to place the impact of these values into a box, you quickly realize the bounds of box are too restrictive. For instance, a compassionate act can have a ripple effect that lasts a thousand years, or a moment of empathy can create an inner transformation that shifts the trajectory of one's life. No box can contain such acts, and when it can't be contained, money can't reach it. This is not to say that boxes aren't valuable -- they are. But it is to say that, as a culture, we can't forget there is value outside of such boxes.