Can Money Save Our World?

Money. Everyone needs it. 

Money is a human-made concept, a social construct, a unit of value that is applied to everything in the world. Money itself is just paper or numbers on a screen, yet the possibilities of it go far beyond its material.

We literally cannot live without it. Food costs money, a house costs money, and even clean drinking water costs money. And yet, many are forced to make do with no resources or money, while others have all they could ever need.

In this modern age we face an array of global issues. Whether they stem from industrialization’s effects on the environment, religious or geopolitical tensions, or even extreme nationalism, the escalation of such issues can be detrimental to people and all life on Earth. Yet, while countries are being bombed, kids are starving, animals are being wiped off the planet, and our earth’s atmosphere is deteriorating, there are billionaires having the time of their lives in lavish mansions, enjoying extravagant galas without having to worry about starving to death or losing their beloved families to war.

It takes the barest of morals to realize that people hoarding money they don’t need, while knowing about the suffering of innocent children in other countries and acknowledging the environmental downfall of earth, is selfish and unsettling. We are ruled by the concept of money, and those who are the top of that monarchy lack all empathy. They take all the power for themselves as they lay waste to those who cannot afford basic things.

Current Conflicts: What Role does Money Play?

As of March 2026, conflicts like the Isreali-Palestinian war, the Russo-Ukrainian war, and the Sudanese civil war are causing immense casualties, starvation, death, and pollution. Whether it is disputes over the occupation of Palestinian land by Israel, the wishes of Putin to erase supposed Nazism in Ukraine, or the struggle for authority between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, all of these conflicts are in pursuit of power. Power means wealth.

And yet, while these disputes are over power and wealth, those exact things are what could save the civilian populations who are being terrorized and living in constant famine and suffering. If the world’s richest men like Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg, sprinkled even a tenth of their wealth upon the less fortunate, they would be changing millions of lives.

The same goes for issues like World Hunger or the economic struggles of developing countries. Just imagine, how would the world look if we truly put our focus on these problems rather than over such empty power struggles?

What Money Can and Cannot Do

According to the WFP (U.N. World Food Program), 828,000,000 people are starving. That is 1 in 10 people on this planet. A study by the WFP then found that $40 billion dollars per year could have ended world hunger by 2030, if they had started in 2023. Yet, even with the contributions of many regular class people, this value has not been fulfilled for just one year. Elon Musk, with a net worth of almost a trillion dollars, would still have billions of dollars remaining if he had contributed to this. Instead, it is the people who are living regular lives putting forth what they can, rather than the rich who enjoy so much.

There are many quantifiable affairs like world hunger. Providing housing, fixing infrastructure, improving transportation, and preventing child labor are all problems which could be solved with the wealth just a few people possess. Unfortunately, a lot of issues like this stem from something greater, less to do with money and more to do with governance and politics.

Especially with the current events we are seeing now, even with money, we aren’t able to fix a lot of things. We might not be able to reach people in need who are amidst war, or who are in countries with closed borders. An article published by Atonibae in late 2025 details how the 2nd most major problem in North Korea is poverty and food insecurity, but North Korea does not allow foreign aid, and very few countries are on good terms with North Korea. Even if the rich or even another country wanted to give aid to people who may be suffering, money alone is not enough to do it.

So…. What?

Putting this all into perspective, it’s crazy to see how far money can go. It controls our world positively and negatively, having the power to destroy it and to build it through the will of nations, while also being just a regular part of our lives whenever we go to a bodega or visit a shopping website. But to answer the question at hand? No, money alone cannot save the entire world.

In order for us to collectively reach an age of prosperity, which is close to impossible with longstanding conflicts and the natural state of the world, we would need to cooperate and truly make efforts to make peace. With peace, we can then use money to resolve the issues that have come about due to war and dissension, and work towards a global economic and social stability.

Until the gazillionaires and every government agree to do so, there are still things us regular people can do. Simply donating any amount to a charity that can help those in need anywhere in the world makes a difference. We can also use less resources and boycott brands that are known for supporting child labor and keeping people in poverty. Little by little, we can help make the world a better place even without the billions of billions of dollars.