..[N]ow, in our time, the problem of money has to be faced as a problem of consciousness, as a problem of the being of man in the universal world. It is more than just a psychological or social problem which one strives to correct in advance of attending to questions of the spirit. It has become the key to understanding the great purpose of human life and what, precisely, prevents us from participating in that great purpose.
Because money is a problem that enters into the whole of human life, it cannot be dealt with in a piecemeal fashion on the level at which it presents itself - pragmatically, psychologically, or moralistically - anymore than one can escape from prison by visiting the prison psychologist or social worker and improving the conditions inside the prison walls.
Jacob Needleman Money and the Meaning of Life (1991) p.4