Freedomain Radio

(9:50)"One of the key properties is the level of abudance or scarcity of the item that is being used as money.... If money is scarce, you create a very serious problem. Because you actually prevent people from being able to exchange goods and services."

Murray Rothbard EPIC SMACKDOWN

"Clearly, the free market will choose as the common unit whatever size of the money-commodity is most convenient. If platinum were the money, it would likely be traded in terms of fractions of an ounce; if iron were used, it would be reckoned in pounds or tons. Clearly, the size makes no difference to the economist.

good stuff so far... though the references to 'community' throughout the site are giving me an uneasy feeling about what lies ahead.

EDIT: I need a human action detox

Stef's recent video called "Fractional Banking, Private Currencies and Humble Freedom" is very interesting. In the second half were he discuss the possible solution for multiple currencies is something I've been chewing on recently and I find it very useful for me. I've been thinking about a possible future society myself in which a person will have mani diffent kinds of electronic currencies in his "portfolio" and in which he makes  a purchase the computer will choose the most optimal currency based on which needs of the service provider can be easily fulfilled with. The currencies could be back by the network of people sponsoring it, which they could usually provide the same services, i.e., doctors, nurses, educators, child carers, programmers, etc. I dunno this idea sounds plausible, the only caveat is that it must be totally voluntary and people should participate in it without any entity forcing them to do it. Right now it seems like we don't have too many options because the government seems to be making it illegal, although there are some places where people are trying out their alternative local currencies. I tend to agree with SteveVe, commodity money doesn't seem to be the only answer, IMO, it should be only one among many, I don't think having 100 or even 500 different currencies would be a problem, if we have the smart computers making the most optimal currency decisions and categorization for us.

Best Regards,
Kleber

Thisentire topic started by this same person already happened here.

Hello Caley - I tried following up your indicated thread, but the website the initial guy posted www.ajustsolution.com doesn't seem available anymore, and some of the people replying refer to it as a socialist/keynesian solution.

Do you happen to know about the possible solution they were debating?

TIA

Kleber.

CaleyM:

Thisentire topic started by this same person already happened here.

Could not find it either...plus it is not me.

Oops, no I wasn't refering to you, but to a guy called Stephen Yearwood that started a thread on a Mises.org forum. sorry about the confusion.

SteveVe:

MrCapitalism:

My objection for your further consideration is this: If there are 100 people on our island "monetizing their own credit," as you say, will we have to navigate a land of 100 simultaneous competing currencies?

As you stated you would not want 100 currencies, also I wouldn't want 100 currencies, I would think the market would see this and aggregate to a community currency of the size the market wants where the value is tied to a basket of commodities.  Obviously this aggregation would need to be market based, not force based.

As somone issues more of their own currency they would attempt to peg to the community currency.  If they issue too much then market exchanges might devaluate their currency.  In actuality, probably about one to three months of sales/income would be the approximate number that could be issued.

Alternatively , the strongest store in the area could transparently issue currency (like a gift certificate) and everyone just use it for trading.

I think this is an excellent and exciting thread that seems to have been unintentionally de-railed somewhat. Apologies for bumping it without having anything intelligent to add......

@SteveVe: Is there anywhere I can read up further on your ideas??

Replacing one monopoly by another monopoly is not better.  The Federal Reserve (or the Central Bank) has a monopoly, however giving this monopoly to terrorists (the government = group of people using violence for political ends) is not better.  At least bankers have a long-term objective to extract wealth from the population, while politicians are on a short 4-year election cycle.  When politicians are in control of the money supply, you get Zimbabwe.

The solution is a free-market monetary system.  Read Murray Rothbard.

iGolder:

Replacing one monopoly by another monopoly is not better.  The Federal Reserve (or the Central Bank) has a monopoly, however giving this monopoly to terrorists (the government = group of people using violence for political ends) is not better.  At least bankers have a long-term objective to extract wealth from the population, while politicians are on a short 4-year election cycle.  When politicians are in control of the money supply, you get Zimbabwe.

The solution is a free-market monetary system.  Read Murray Rothbard.

I agree that a free market system is what is missing.  This probably would inlcude gold money as a part of it.

However, I think the majority of people woud chose to use their IOUs in whatever way the market accepts them...i.e. that 'credit money' is okay if the market accepts in in a non-monpoly.

iGolder:

Replacing one monopoly by another monopoly is not better.  The Federal Reserve (or the Central Bank) has a monopoly, however giving this monopoly to terrorists (the government = group of people using violence for political ends) is not better.  At least bankers have a long-term objective to extract wealth from the population, while politicians are on a short 4-year election cycle.  When politicians are in control of the money supply, you get Zimbabwe.

That's true, in a distrubing way.  It's like saying - would you rather be kidnapped by rapists or cannibals?

SteveVe:

I agree that a free market system is what is missing.  This probably would inlcude gold money as a part of it.

However, I think the majority of people woud chose to use their IOUs in whatever way the market accepts them...i.e. that 'credit money' is okay if the market accepts in in a non-monpoly.

The video "Money as debt" is promoting BIG Government and taxes to control inflation (inflation is a tax by the way).  This video does not promote a free market monetary system, but a replacement from a monopolistic private bank to a monopolistic public bank.  In the end, any "public property" - such as a public bank - is controlled by a small group of individuals while the population pays the bills its maintenance.