"Avariciousness and extravagance can be treated as identical in their relationship to money because, in both forms of economic behaviour, the
idea of money as a transparent and manipulable means to an end is turned into an end in itself, an object of desire. The concept of money, or information concerning its abstract features as an economic instrument, do not therefore serve merely as a reflection upon money's properties as an independent object. The
idea of money is a motivating force conditioning the way it is used, thereby underpinning the function money itself fulfils. In this sense, information about money cannot be said to be distinct from money itself but is integeral to its features.... " (my emphasis)
Nigel Dodd The Sociology of Money (1994) p.112
