Hick Planet
magazine
tryna find the grownups table on a hick planet
an unperiodical:
on arts, endeavors, musings, sites, sights, & other senses
Thursday, 2019 November 28th
issue 1
a common myth
that Money Has Intrinsic Value
a supplement to
by
Agent d’Amore
Many people assume that money must be a store of value to even be called money.
There is the view held by many that money is something that has intrinsic value (precious metal, precious gems, commodities, etc.) that is used in exchanges based on this intrinsic value.
This view is more akin to a barter exchange: something of value for something of value.
If you view money more as a tangible accounting method (a stack of cash is a form of accounting) that facilitates transactions, you can see that it doesn’t need intrinsic value, as the value it holds is in potential transactions.
One reason that dollars have value is that you can pay your taxes with them.
There are also Legal Tender laws, which are reflected in the phrase printed on our currency: “this note is legal tender, for all debts public and private”.
The value of our money comes from the fact that we can buy things and pay our debts with it, including our taxes.
Copyright 2019 The Cool Publication Company.