North is one of the few economists who are actually enjoyable to read. Regarding his legacy, he is being very smart to make all of his voluminous writings available to download free of charge.
What is Money?
- Thread starter Jefferson
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Like what?
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Magic pixie dust.
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I know that this is an old thread... but that is just silly.
Money is simply a commodity that allows for the exchange of things like labor and goods.
Using gold as the sum store for that "money" is as good as anything else.
Money should be "finite". People obtain money by providing other people with something valuable. It's not a zero sum game.
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No, it's not. That is completely ridiculous.
What you don't get about money is that there is no alternative. It cannot be done away with. No matter how hard someone might try, they would fail to get rid of money in any society with more than fifty people in it. If one form is outlawed, then another will sprout to take its place. If it isn't minted coins then it will be blocks of salt or a particular kind of sea shell or cigarettes. What ever commodity is rare and difficult to produce more of will become a form of money whether anyone actively tries to turn it into that or not. Trying to remove money from a functioning society would be like trying to remove waves from the beach.
One with two people, let alone fifty!
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I was also going to say that... but barter is much easier with just two people.
Well, when its just you and your family or tribe then converting one's time and talent into and exchangeable medium loses its necessity but the larger the group, the more such a need presents itself.