So I'm the first to write about money... The first thing I noticed was
that English, or in particular American slang, has many more words for
money (bling bling, green, bills, cash, dollars) than french (blé, euro,
I wasn't sure about "tune").

The American side was more aware about the evil of money, identifying it
with oppression, corruption, power, war, inequality, and poverty.
Phrased in a diferent way, the French don't believe money is necessarily
a source of evil, as stressed in the words or phrases "source de
motivation", "besoin por le payement", nécessaire, précieux, bijoux,
qualité de vie, beaucoup de travail, education, apport, tranquillité and
plaisir.

I think those are the main differences, and I would trace the origin of
these to the general cultural differences of both countries. As stressed
in the discussions for the word "individualism", Americans see the idea
of working for oneself positive, but I think that is what leads to the
problems of corruption, inequality and poverty. However, the French work
for their community, and the effect is a much truer equality and
happiness overall.

To add to Alejandro's comment on how the French view money, it can be
proposed that there may also be an economic impetus for such views. For
example, it can be inferred from the France word association that there
may be a higher level of unemployment and tax rates than in the U.S.
(allusions from such words like chômeur, impôts). Thus, money brings a
more positive outlook to the French (or so taken from the words given by
the students of Paris II).

I also observed that there is more mention of the materialistic from the
U.S. side. For example, money is related with shopping, skyscrapers,
sailing gear, and an indication of one's position in the society.
However, on the French side, money is denoted as a necessity, needed for
comfort, and a source of happiness. Not much is mentioned that relates
to shopping (which could imply that there is not enough extra money to
do such a thing) or nothing 'innecessary.'

I think you guys have said it all from the American perspective, and I
had also noticed the materialistic associations of Americans (which
Jorge noted). Perhaps this comes from a much more consumer-driven
economy, which places much emphasis on impulse buying. I guess all of
those good commercials have done their job.

It is indeed the case that Americans mention more frivolous uses of
money than the French do, so I was surprised to find out that in general
it is in America, the heart of Capitalism, that money is seen as a
source of negativity. So I guess since money is so central to the
American society, people are more aware of all aspects about it ("Money
is more than a necessity, it is pleasurable" vs. "Money results in
poverty, corruption and conflicts").

Pourquoi sommes nous passé d'une économie de troc à une économie où
l'argent est devenu aussi important? La monnaie comme dit Montesquieu
est une "monnaie-signe". Elle représente une valeur. La monnaie,
l'argent, c'est rien, c'est la valeur qui a de l'importance. Ainsi,les
"bling bling, green, bills, cash, dollars" c'est pas le problème. Je
pense qu'une société riche est une société qui a développé sa culture et
ses valeurs humanistes. Souvenez vous de l'Espagne au XVème (le pays de
l'argent et de l'or), qu'est-elle devenue par la suite? L'accumulation
de l'argent doit uniquement servir à développer les valeurs humanistes
(démocratie, égalité).

Bonjour guys,

j'ai lu vos messages et je voudrais vous faire la rémarque que vous êtes
les seuls à continuer de parler de l'argent et cette rémarque revient
simplement pour vous montrer à quel point les frainçais ne parlent pas
d'argent.

Peut-être car l'argent est perçu comme "un moyen pour.."; "un bésoin
de.." mais ne porte pas le sentiment de culpabilité que vous rémarqués
sur vos perseptions sur l'argent. a+

Exactement Pablo, je pense que sur le thème de l'argent, il y a la
encore une grande différence de perception. Comme vous l'avez tous dit,
l'argent est source de motivation pour un Américain alors qu'en France,
c'est plus une nécessité. Cela rejoint nos différences sur le thème de
la culture : L'entrepreunariat fait partie de la culture Américaine.
Alors qu'en France, selon un sondage du 'Nouvel Obs' (revue française),
80% des jeunes de 20 à 25 ans se disent intéressés par un avenir dans la
Fonction Publique.

Ainsi si un Américain gagne beaucoup d'argent, il le montre et cela
prouve qu'il a été "successful". En France, si vous gagnez beaucoup
d'argent, vous ne le montrez pas et cela peut susciter la jalousie des
autres...

L'argent a plus une place centrale dans une société capitaliste
Américaine, qu'en France.

Vive San Diego style !

Jerem' a raison! C'est exactement ça! Nous avons une perception
doifférente de la notino de l'argent! En France on n'expose pas le mythe
de la réussite comme aux Etats Unis ce qui fait qe la plupart des jeuns
n'ont plus d'ambitions malheureusement! On part la notion de l'effort! A
encourager les jeunes à la sécurité de l'emploi et les longues vacances,
(parce que les fonctionnaires ont la sécurité de l'emploi à vie et 8
mois de vacances), on perd toute notion d'effort pour gagner sa vie!
C'est dommage...!

"Pour faire du commerce, il faut, de nos jours, être américain ; mais si
on se contente d'être intelligent, on peut aussi bien être français."
Boris VIAN.

I think some of these money issues might be linked more to idealism more
than reality. It's nice to say that money isn't as important, but with a
more socialistic government you kind of have to think that or you'll be
pretty disappointed in the long run. What was really interesting was a
2003 Harris Poll
(http://www.harrisinteractive.com/harris_poll/index.asp?PID=378) that
said that only 14% of French citizens are "Very Satisfied with their
lives" while 57% of Americans are. Might one of the reasons be monetary
prospects?

I'm not sure where to bring up this topic, but I found it interesting.

According to a MORI pole, http://www.mori.com/polls/1998/icl_life.shtml,
"Internetphobia is rife in France where only 17% of people use the
Internet, the main reason being that they feel it's irrelevant to them."

As an MIT student, I cannot imagine living without the internet. How do
you think this affects the productivity of your country? Why do the
French believe that the internet is irrelevant to them?

Je pense que l'argent est une source de motivation pour la plupart des
jeunes, une source de problèmes à tous les niveaux de la société
(corruption, braquage, trafic en tout genre, etc.) et que pour certains
tous les moyens sont bons pour avoir beaucoup d'argent. Il est clair
qu'afficher sa richesse personnelle peut créer de la jalousie donc des
problèmes, mais montrer sa richesse peut également être une source de
motivation...

As some of my older friends have started to pair off and get married,
I've noticed that they hold off on starting a family until they've "made
enough money" or "achieved all that they've wanted to achieve". I guess
I'm observing a trend where younger Americans put money at a higher
priority than a family, or at least they don't want to start a family
and bring up children unless they are doing very well monetarily. I know
that I think the same way; I want to have my own company started and
running well before I start raising kids, which is much different than
how my parents thought-- they started a family right after college
before either of them were very well established economically. Is the
same trend of money/achievements before family noticable in France?