The amount of work that can be done

In Physics, the quantity of "energy" is defined as the amount of work that can be done in the physical world. In the world of people's affairs, the quantity of "money" is much the same, definable as the amount of work that can be done in the world of people.

And, in the world of people, just as in the world of physics, that amount of work can be used up in wastefulness, or used to create something fine and grand. That is, the amount of potential work only regulates the maximum amount of what could be done, not the existence and quality of what is done.