On Fri, May 20, 2011 at 2:06 AM, Karl Robillard
<krobillard@san.rr.com> wrote:
I don't see how the alternative currency experiments like Bitcoin do anything
to help us move to a more egalitarian, steady-state economy.
Right now we're suffering from a lack of currency competition. Central bank fiat currency dominates the world but we could be using a myriad of currency systems - IOUs, time, commodities, tokens, etc. We want a healthy, diverse marketplace of accessible currencies just like we want a healthy, diverse marketplace for wheat.
An economist will tell you that "price is information", but I'm not sure how
they justify that.
The 'information' is where supply and demand intersect, creating the context for trade. This is remarkable information because market participants are motivated by self-interest to share this information and, in doing so, create efficient transactions.
An ounce of crack, a few hours of music lessons, a lawn
mower, or a couple hours of labor might all be $100. None of these can
remotely be considered the same, but yet the dollar value is identical.
If we had more currency systems pricing would be different and more efficient. For example, you might buy music lessons in time hours, crack in bitcoins, a lawn mower in dollars and labor in an IOUs. Arbitrage opportunities would be plentiful and accessible, drastically increasing our capacity to create wealth.
Any
mechanism which equates these is an absurd abstraction which eliminates a
great deal of useful information.
This abstraction is only absurd in some contexts. If you're participating in global trade with massive supply chains, this abstraction is extremely useful. But the UD$ and the central banking fiat currency system of which it's a part is great for global trade but horrible for local trade. That's why we need more currencies.
This dearth of relational data is a
fundamental feature of money which turns the economy into a valuation game.
Over time, the wealth gap between those who game the system well and those
that don't becomes so great that a jubilee or a revolution is needed.
... or the emergence of alternative systems.
I see open source production and modern information technology as powerful
tools which allow us to more fully value things. They are important because
they help make money (just a primitive form of information technology, IMO)
obsolete.
"Money" is extremely sophisticated information technology - from the materials and processes used to create 'paper' currency to the massive networks of hardware, software, data and knowledge technologies that makes it possible for people around the world to transact with each other in real time. This technology is - however - highly proprietary. When the technologies of money are open sourced we're going to achieve great wealth.
I just don't understand why people want to continue to treat the
economy as a game.
Your closing statement is interesting. If the economy isn't a game, what is it?
-Karl
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