Cabaret – what makes the world go round?
In Cabaret and related Kander & Ebb shows, the famous answer is money – the song “Money, Money” drives home the idea that, in a harsh, material world, cash is what keeps everything spinning, even as the show warns how empty that can be.

Quick Scoop

  • The phrase “what makes the world go round” in a Cabaret context usually points to the number “Money, Money” from the 1972 film, sung in a sleazy, playful style by Sally Bowles and the Emcee.
  • The song insists that “money is all that makes the world go round,” contrasting romantic ideals with the brutal reality of poverty and survival in Weimar Berlin.
  • In the revue And the World Goes ’Round (a celebration of Kander & Ebb’s songs), the cast literally discovers “what really makes the world go around” in the number “Money, Money” , then roll into “Cabaret” to urge living life to the fullest.

Mini-Sections

1. Cabaret, Money, and the “World”

At the surface level, the lyric idea is simple:

  • If you’re hungry, broke, and desperate, love and ideals fade fast; material survival takes over. The blog commentary on Liza Minnelli’s performance spells this out clearly, noting the song’s conclusion that “money is all that makes the world go round.”
  • The jazzy, seductive staging turns a bleak truth into an entertaining nightclub act, which is very much the Cabaret style: glamour wrapped around decay.

In modern discussions and reviews, critics still highlight how Cabaret uses this number to underline the link between economic desperation , moral compromise , and the political darkness closing in around the characters.

2. How it Ties into And the World Goes ’Round

Kander & Ebb’s revue And the World Goes ’Round weaves songs from Cabaret , Chicago , Kiss of the Spider Woman , and more into a loose narrative about life pushing on, no matter what.

  • Near the end, the cast reprising “And the World Goes ’Round” suddenly “see what really makes the world go around” with “Money, Money” – a wink to the same Cabaret theme.
  • Immediately after, they sing “Cabaret” , turning that cynical realization into a defiant “live fully anyway” message, before closing with the idea that the world will keep turning regardless.

So, in this revue’s internal logic:

  • Life goes on → Money spins the machine → So choose to live, sing, and dance while you can.

3. Forum / Meme Angle

Because the line “money makes the world go round” is so iconic, it’s also become a meme-able reference point:

  • Fans jokingly contrast it with scientific reality (“No, gravity makes the world go round”), especially in online threads about the 1972 film.
  • This playful clash between physics and cabaret cynicism keeps the phrase alive in current forum culture and “shitty movie detail” style jokes.

4. Different Viewpoints on “What Makes the World Go Round”

If you look beyond the literal lyric, you can read the theme from several angles:

  1. Cynical/materialist view
    • Money and power dominate choices, relationships, and politics in Cabaret ’s world; moral ideals often crumble when bills are due.
  1. Humanist/romantic counter-view
    • Other Kander & Ebb songs in And the World Goes ’Round focus on love, small joys, and resilience – suggesting that while money runs the system, meaning still comes from connection and feeling.
  1. Modern audience view
    • Today, many see the number as a sharp critique: it exposes a world where people are forced to worship money, rather than endorsing that worldview.

A neat way to remember it:

In Cabaret , gravity keeps the planet spinning, but money keeps the story spinning.

5. Key Facts in a Nutshell

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Aspect Details
Core phrase “Money makes the world go round” tied to Kander & Ebb’s songwriting and the Cabaret film.
Main song “Money, Money” – raunchy cabaret number about cash ruling life.
Key performer Liza Minnelli as Sally Bowles in the 1972 movie, iconic for this number.
Revue connection *And the World Goes ’Round* uses “Money, Money” to reveal what “really” makes the world go round.
Theme Economic desperation vs. romantic ideals; money vs. meaning.
**TL;DR:** In the cabaret/musical-theatre sense, when people say “Cabaret – what makes the world go round?”, they’re nodding to Kander & Ebb’s **“Money, Money”** , where the punchline is that **money** is the force spinning a corrupt, glamorous, and deeply fragile world.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.