On Thursday 14 November 2002 04:12 pm, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > In a message dated 11/14/02 4:06:17 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: > > << <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > "It seems like the cigarette is everything a good > solid currency needs to be...." > > Except that you can't smoke your cigarettes and have > them, too. A researcher with alot of smokes could > probably come up with some interesting monetary theory > experiments. > > -jsh >> > > This reminds me that science fiction author James Blish, who novelized the > original Star Trek series, wrote a mammoth work called Cities in Flight in > which someone developed and anti-gravity technology that allowed whole > cities to migrate around the cosmos. Someone else developed a longevity > drug which allowed the people in the migratory cities--or at least some of > the people in the cities--to live indefinitely. For some period of > time--the book covers centuries as I recall--the cities used the drug as > money, but the problem of not being able to take the drug and have it too > came home to roost and their monetary system collapsed.
The classic 'example' of this in SF is Herbert's _Dune_, where a longevity (but not immortality) drug is the major interplanetary currency of the known universe. It's portable, desirable, and scarce. It isn't neccessary for life, but it is neccessary for space travel over long distance and for long life. Incidentally, the population living on the only planet where this drug is produced is extremely impoverished and oppressed by the feudal house ruling the planet. They not only see none of the benefit of the drug's market, but in fact *suffer* from it. The spice was of course (at least in part) an analogy for oil, as Herbert was writing in the 70's. - Susan
