A so-called hermit monk may achieve complete solitude, but even most monks will spend some time trading something they have of value with other monks (and possi

A so-called hermit monk may achieve complete solitude, but even most monks will spend some time trading something they have of value with other monks (and possibly beyond). That's all work is. A state of: I can do something for you, and you can do something for me, and we see ourselves as both being better off for it. Sometimes practical constraints means something cannot be delivered immediately, so a party may promise to deliver it later. That is all money and accounting is – a record of the promises made. We're social creatures. I expect most do truly do see life as being empty if they cannot grow with other people. Protestantism may have taken notice of that, but it didn't invent it.