Chrematistic means to do with money, but it's not the sort of respectable money you get by earning a living. No, the chrematistic stuff is the extra money that goes on the top of a thing's intrinsic worth to make up its price.
In other words it's the profit which doesn't (some say) profit anyone but the person raking in the dosh.
Chrematistic is also to do with levels of interest, exchange rates, and middle-men. It's the money which grows without obviously doing anything useful on the way. It's been frowned upon by Aristotle, Plato, St Thomas Aquinas, Luther and Karl Marx...
...but, hey, that lot came up with all sorts of weird stuff, didn't they? I mean, Aristotle thought that eels don't reproduce, and Luther thought that a lay person who preached in church should be put to death.
And chrematistic is such a lovely word...
...still, we don't have to approve to use it, do we?
Word To Use Today: chrematistic. This word comes from the Greek khrēmatizein to make money, from khrēma, money.
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