tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post9168708005570087566..comments2024-03-28T17:08:15.784-07:00Comments on Social Democracy for the 21st Century: A Realist Alternative to the Modern Left: Debate on the Origin of MoneyLord Keyneshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06556863604205200159noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-91257460804464064402012-09-24T23:02:41.134-07:002012-09-24T23:02:41.134-07:00I think it's crucial to realize that "mon...I think it's crucial to realize that "moneyness" is a composite of at least three separate qualities, possibly more:<br />- unit of account<br />- medium of exchange<br />- store of value...<br />And each of those qualities is on a *scale* -- some things are better stores of value than others, some are good media for some exchanges and not others ("do you take checks?"), and some are even better units of account than others --<br /><br />So any given instrument can have different amounts of "moneyness" -- and "moneyness" can come and go as people's psychology, perception, willingness to accept things, changes.<br /><br />This is why quantity-of-money theories suffer definitional problems. However, thinking about quantity of money is still useful because of the following. It is clear that the immediate cause of the current Depression was a *loss of moneyness* -- demonetization -- of various things like "AAA mortgage-backed securities". This caused a cascade effect as different companies suddenly had less "money" than they thought they had. This triggered their accounting requirements (unit of account...) which triggered legal requirements... and so on, and Lehman Brothers is declaring bankruptcy, and all the other megabanks are demanding free money, while refusing to give ordinary people any money (in loans).<br />neroden@gmailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07475686367097445497noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-16719796610359349822012-08-25T22:21:55.199-07:002012-08-25T22:21:55.199-07:00You are undoubtedly correct: the historical origin...You are undoubtedly correct: the historical origins of money is a different issue from what money is now.Lord Keyneshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06556863604205200159noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6245381193993153721.post-73364716793488443542012-08-25T21:57:18.737-07:002012-08-25T21:57:18.737-07:00Just one note: The question of where money comes f...Just one note: The question of where money comes from is not the same as the the question of what modern money is. Understanding the monetary systems we have now is paramount. It doesn't matter much how they got to be this way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com