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To: Metacomet who wrote (109388)	12/31/2014 4:47:40 AM
From: critical_mass	1 Recommendation Recommended By clochard Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 218073

The book Debt: The First 5000 Years by David Graeber was recommended on this thread more than three years ago and is worth reading. Message 27593309 It covers a couple of ideas related to your recent posts. One is that money arose from debt systems and there is very little evidence for the existence of the barter economy which has been assumed to precede currency based trade. Another is the concept of debt which will never be repaid - essentially a form of tribute. When the debtor is much more powerful than the creditor or creditors, tribute may be part of the relationship.

To: Metacomet who wrote (109388)	12/31/2014 9:53:22 AM
From: bart13	1 Recommendation Recommended By RJA_ Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 218073

Fiat money certainly can be a decent store of value, as the dollar was in the 1800s, but that was in an environment where there was a built in limiter to excess money printing - namely gold and silver. Value retention is (and should be) a prime aspect of money as per one of the actual economic definition of money, this one from Wikipedia: Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts in a particular country or socio-economic context. [1] [2] [3] The main functions of money are distinguished as: a medium of exchange; a unit of account; a store of value; and, perhaps, a standard of deferred payment. [4] [5] Any item or verifiable record that fulfills these functions can be considered money. Gold & silver both fit that definition and are even recognized today and since the 1970s as money since they have international symbols as currencies from the ISO, who also establish country codes. ISO 4217 The bottom line in the area for me is that uncontrolled and excess money printing by Central Banks or Treasurys is the basic cause of inflation and devaluation of fiat currencies, and gold and silver are one of many paths that avoid the massive loss of value in fiat currencies over the decades. Having the currency in your pocket lose value consistently is a heinous and almost literally psychotic way to run a culture or society.