This is a very good explanation @shortsegments.
Perhaps I would explain like this.
It is a monetary system that...

1. cuts out the middleman to cut out the politics of money,
2. gives you control over your own money to give yourself privacy and freedom, and
3. has a blockchain that shows proof of transactions to avoid criminal acts such as money laundering and other crimes.

And while it is still currently mostly centralized, in the future, eventually this monetary system will be full functional on a decentralized system to avoid corruption.