228 THE SOCIAL THEORY OF GEORG SIMMEL

That money takes this extreme position in the scale
of functional relationships between possessor and possessions
 is also manifest in another direction. The sphere of
objects which I fill with my personality because I express
my will in and through them is limited not only by the inherent
 characteristics of the objects, but also by the capacity
 for expansion of my ego. The sphere of objects can become
 so great that I cannot realize my potential dominion
over them. In this respect also money takes a special place.
It requires less effort in its administration, enjoyment, and
dominion than any other object, and the quantity of dominion
 and possession that can be actualized is much greater
 than with other forms of property. In the former case the
inherent characteristics of the objects themselves set the
limits to the dominion and the freedom of the ego; here it is
the capacity for expansion which limits the dominion; but
in both cases money is the form of possession which allows
the greatest self-expression and the maximum individual
liberty.!

Money and Social Differentiation

The increasing differentiation already referred to between
 the subjective and the objective aspects and the personal
 and factual sides of life is also manifest in the historical
 development of property. Possession is an extension
 of the ego, a phenomenon of mental life. Its significance
 consists in the conscious realization of the existing
relationship between subject and object. What is done
with the object is a function of the subject, is a projection
of the will or the feeling or the thought of the subject into
the object. But this differentiation is a historical appearance.
 Originally practical possession, like theoretical possession,
 was a state of indifference, a situation in which the
1 Phil. des Geldes, pp. 322-56.