Bergen, Månen

Penger er for Simmel et av de klareste utrykkene for det moderne objektiverte samfunnet. Som betalingsmiddel distanserer pengene individene fra hverandre:

Money transactions erect a barrier between persons, in that not only one of the the two parties to the transaction receives what he actually wants, what corresponds to his specific needs, whereas the other party to the transaction, who only receives money, has to search for a third party to satisfy his needs. The fact that both enter the transaction with a completely different kind of interest adds a new element of estrangement to the antagonism that is already brought about by opposing interests. In the same manner, it has already been suggested that money results in a universal objectification of transactions, in an elimination of all personal nuances and tendencies, and , further, that the number of relationships based on money is constantly increasing, that the significance of one person for another can increasingly be traced back, even though often in a concealed form, to monetary interests (Simmel 1990:477).