ABSTRACT

Money combines people's attraction to what is rare and sacred, with a very deep human attachment to property, a territorial acquisitiveness. Property rights do not appear to be unique to a culture or religion or language. Their sense of ownership of their property and their sense of wrongdoing if it is taken from them are much more essential feelings. Money's pull on the primitive brain exploits their instinct for property, a desire to protect what is theirs, and also their fascination with what is rare and, even more so, what is rare and beautiful. Emile Durkheim defined religion using the distinction between the sacred and the profane. This chapter discusses Pokemon cards as an example that they are high-quality money. They are not just scarce, but also visually alluring. The allure of money is its most mysterious and illusive property.