I think this is a very concise and valuable criticism of money as we know it.<br><br>Jack<br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Fri, May 20, 2011 at 8:06 AM, Karl Robillard <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:krobillard@san.rr.com">krobillard@san.rr.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">I don't see how the alternative currency experiments like Bitcoin do anything<br>
to help us move to a more egalitarian, steady-state economy.<br>
<br>
An economist will tell you that "price is information", but I'm not sure how<br>
they justify that. An ounce of crack, a few hours of music lessons, a lawn<br>
mower, or a couple hours of labor might all be $100. None of these can<br>
remotely be considered the same, but yet the dollar value is identical. Any<br>
mechanism which equates these is an absurd abstraction which eliminates a<br>
great deal of useful information. This dearth of relational data is a<br>
fundamental feature of money which turns the economy into a valuation game.<br>
Over time, the wealth gap between those who game the system well and those<br>
that don't becomes so great that a jubilee or a revolution is needed.<br>
<br>
I see open source production and modern information technology as powerful<br>
tools which allow us to more fully value things. They are important because<br>
they help make money (just a primitive form of information technology, IMO)<br>
obsolete. I just don't understand why people want to continue to treat the<br>
economy as a game.<br>
<br>
<br>
-Karl<br>
<br>
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</blockquote></div><br>