To be fair, that doesn't mean it doesn't work. It was Paul Samuelson who first referred to money as a "social contrivance". Economics is more complicated than "LOL ur money is fake, I'll stick to my cabin off the grid THANK YOU". Some things in economics are very counter-intuitive. A good example is a policy of deposit insurance which guarantees against bank runs but also prevents bank runs since back runs are caused by the fear that one will not be able to access one's deposits. So deposit insurance is a policy renders itself unnecessary and yet is therefore good. Very counter-intuitive. The "illusion" of the monetary system is just as counter-intuitive because it's a mass hallucination which renders itself real.