Sabri Oncu wrote: > What I said is not about anything other than changing the numeriare > and altering the units of measurement. In theory, I can change the > numeriare in any way I like, as well as the units of measurement. If > I can do what I say and most people agree with me, I am done, right? > In other words, gold money is as arbitrary as fiat money. Therefore, > that the world gold supply is fixed or finite does not mean that the > world gold-based money supply must be fixed also. As long as sellers > are willing to sell what they used to sell in the past for less gold > now, everything is nice and dandy, and we all live happily ever after.
Selling the same thing for "less gold" means that prices in terms of gold (per ounce, for example) have fallen. That's not the same as increasing the supply of gold money. It's true that the amount of gold-based paper money can be increased, but either reserve requirements or the distrust of the gold-holding banks that issue this scrip prevents it from expanding elastically. The gold-based paper money is itself discounted if its supply is expanded too much. Sabri: > The question is this: why should the world go with my choice and cope > with my changing my mind whenever I want? It won't. But then we have > the nation states, an international system of states and all that nice > things such as social classes, and from their struggles come a system > of currencies whether they are based on some metal or on any other > commodity or on fiat. > > Hence, all moneys are fiat moneys, because they are all social constructs. Money is a social construct, yes. It's society that decides for example, that gold has the right attributes as a use-value (divisible, non-toxic, etc.) to be a money. But "fiat" money does not refer to the "fiat" (decree) of society but to the fiat of the state or government. The state is only a fraction of society. Laurent: >About belief, I don't know the why, but the argument that the government is "forcing" you was true a decade ago but it's no longer true now thanks to the internet.< It's not that the government forces individuals to use fiat money; you're free to reject it (though I would prefer that you give all your unwanted fiat money to me). Rather, its the _circulation_ of fiat money that is "forced" by such things as the enforced non-convertibility of fiat money, the restriction of its supply, and the willingness of the state to accept it in payment of taxes. -- Jim Devine / "Segui il tuo corso, e lascia dir le genti." (Go your own way and let people talk.) -- Karl, paraphrasing Dante. _______________________________________________ pen-l mailing list [email protected] https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l
