Francisco's "money speech" presents the antithesis of the conventional viewpoint that "money is the root of all evil." He points out that money is a tool of exchange, which presupposes productive men and their activities. The production of goods and services is what makes man's life on earth possible. If human survival and prosperity is good, production is profoundly moral. Furthermore, productive effort is fundamentally an intellectual process. Thinkers invent new goods and methods that promote progress, and Rearden is a prime example.
Francisco explains that money is a claim on goods and services, and the goods and services must be created. The creative acts of growing food, manufacturing steel, producing oil, or running a railroad give money its meaning and value. The money that a man earns is the symbol of his productive ability and, consequently, his badge of moral honor. Money, because of the exacting demands it makes on a man's productive effort and its role as the medium of exchange for the goods and services created, must be considered the root of all good, Francisco states. Money makes man's life on earth possible.
