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Reader question: Please explain “a means to an end”, as in, “work is just a means to an end”. My comments: Work is a means, a method by which you accomplish something. What’s implied here is that you work to make some money in order to earn a good living. A good living is the “end” – your real aim or eventual goal. What’s also implied here, by the way, is those for whom “work is just a means to an end” don’t like their work very much. In other words, they don’t like to do it (but they want to have the money and so they have to put up with the work). We’ll talk about that later. First, definitions again. Means, plural, is a method, system, object, anything you use as a way of achieving a result. If you do A to achieve B, A is the means, B the end. You go to Shanghai by means of the railway, for instance. The railway is the means, Shanghai the end. Karl Marx talked about “means of production” referring to materials, tools and equipment that are used in the production of goods. The Ways and Means Committee, on the other hand, refers to a group of representatives in the government of a US state or Congress whose job is to find the money (means) for the government to spend. Similarly, when your parents advise you: “Don’t spend beyond your means”, they’re warning you against spending more money than you make – lest you end up in debt. | 
