Money and Class in America by Lewis Lapham describes how Americans use and value their money. It describes that money symbolizes a person's success in life. It also brings in many religious aspects of money. However, not all people use their money to succeed. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Lewis Lapham describes Americans as "derailed by the pursuit of money" who can turn "in no other direction." He is saying that most Americans are so absorbed in money that their lives largely depend on it. Lapham generalizes Americans as people who need money to survive. He also says that money is a “happiness theorem” since people who have money are happy. While it is true that money makes people happy, people can be equally happy without a lot of money in their lives. Many people don't have much money. These people can still be just as happy without the abundance of money needed. Lewis Lapham's use of the phrase “the use of money as the currency of the soul” presents a religious view as a spiritual view of money. The “currency of our soul” can be interpreted as Americans' strong dependence on money as a form of life. If money is all we think about, it limits our freedom of expression due to the influence of greed on money. Leaders of big businesses cannot let their greed for money influence their development and improvement of their businesses. For example, Apple founder Steve Jobs did not let money influence his thinking on new ideas, such as the previous iPhones, to bring new improvements and developments to the iPhone. If people let money influence our lives, it would be difficult to focus on a specific topic, such as inventing new products. Money cannot influence our personal life because it would be an obstacle that we cannot overcome. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get a Custom Essay Lewis Lapham's view on money that Americans are greedy is unjustified because there are many other people who are just as happy without much money to live on, and money cannot enter our personal lives’.