Yes, The Culture Series has informed my political thought quite intensely as well-- I only heard of it via HN about a year ago.<p>&quot;Money is a sign of poverty&quot; is the thought that sticks with me the most. Why bother having a currency for resource distribution if resources are vast and there is no benefit to conspicuous consumption?<p>People in the Culture rightly view money as an abstract type of coercion, and are abhorred by the ability to force people to do things that they don&#x27;t want to do via monetary incentives.