"Show me the incentive and I'll show you the outcome."

--Charlie Munger

I like this framing.

Anyone care to suggest what money "wants" or where it wants to go?

I know it's a flawed question, because money is in many ways inert, but we have similar caveats around genes and evolution. Non-sentient things can still create persistent structures that we can label with our human values. Or something :)

Its ancestors wanted to feed the Roman army, and to ensure that the recently conquered stayed conquered next year. I don't think it's much different today: provide legitimacy to cases where those with power want to coerce those without.

The modern wrinkle is that our effects on the world are more significant. This design has side effects (re: the climate, to name just one). These are side effects which we may not be able to tolerate forever. I think that money, being a status-quo preserver, "wants" us to ignore them for as long as possible, but since they're cumulative, that's going to be tougher sell as time goes on.

Also, It's an information technology. As the makers of such things I think it's up to us to figure out what the next version should look like.

I think money is simply like mass: it has some kind of gravitational force, so people are drawn to it (the more money the stronger the pull), and it attracts itself (money tends to accumulate like a black hole), if left unchecked.

The only way to interfere with it is by using other unrelated forces, like kindness, just like we can move masses around with electromagnetism.

Money wants to go to where more money is, and accumulate in great pools that can pull in more and more money. Money seeks to erode barriers that would prevent this, so that the money pool can accumulate faster and faster. This force can overcome morals that are barriers to the process of money accumulation.

Money tends to want more money. Thus, it's extremely amoral so we shouldn't be shocked when it does things people consider bad.

Generally speaking, money wants to go places that fulfill peoples desires, much like a ball wants to roll down hill.

People want food, housing, entertainment, and many more things so there is money to be made providing them.

Sometimes people do a bad job at picking what they want.

Sometimes people dont like what other people want, and when other people get it.