I would hate to lose yet another word from the language, we've lost too many already as society is dumbed down, evidenced by your Bitcoin friend. I agree with Gesell that using money as a store of wealth is a problem as it allows massive accumulations of it to be used for power to steer public policy and perceptions.
I think of money as a social power embodied in law as an unconditional payment system. Currency is used to represent it as the distributive mechanism for that social power. This is why it should be public power and not a private one. How the system is designed to function then is critical to how it impacts people and places, which can be positively or negatively depending on the design. Money is never neutral. As Soddy pointed out in 1934, “To allow it to become a source of revenue to private issuers is to create, first, a secret and illicit arm of the government and, last, a rival power strong enough ultimately to overthrow all other forms of government.” Indeed, this is our current reality.
However, as you know Gesell demonstrated how to free the money from the chains of usury and reverse all its negative impacts, turning them into positive impacts simply by design. I think the Wörgl currency was the most successful currency in the last 600 years if the measure is public benefit. Some would probably claim the US Dollar is the most successful and if you mean in subjugating and dominating the world I guess it is but that is about maximizing profits for the few, not for public benefit.
Thanks for your comment, Howard. I'm not being facetious when I say I think we need to eliminate the word money. I think it engenders too much confusion at this point. But obviously, in order to change the word we first need to change the thing to which it refers. It would be pointless to change the word without changing the thing first. Of course you and I are in agreement that demurrage is the correct way to do that, and I would propose that when we implement demurrage we thereafter use the word "currency" instead of "money", so as to avoid confusion.
I agree there is much confusion around the word money, I'm just not sure I can blame the word for that. Under the current paradigm it seems all words are enlisted to serve power. They call Bitcoin a currency.... lol. Maybe, money is the power, currency is the flow.
Josh,
I would hate to lose yet another word from the language, we've lost too many already as society is dumbed down, evidenced by your Bitcoin friend. I agree with Gesell that using money as a store of wealth is a problem as it allows massive accumulations of it to be used for power to steer public policy and perceptions.
I think of money as a social power embodied in law as an unconditional payment system. Currency is used to represent it as the distributive mechanism for that social power. This is why it should be public power and not a private one. How the system is designed to function then is critical to how it impacts people and places, which can be positively or negatively depending on the design. Money is never neutral. As Soddy pointed out in 1934, “To allow it to become a source of revenue to private issuers is to create, first, a secret and illicit arm of the government and, last, a rival power strong enough ultimately to overthrow all other forms of government.” Indeed, this is our current reality.
However, as you know Gesell demonstrated how to free the money from the chains of usury and reverse all its negative impacts, turning them into positive impacts simply by design. I think the Wörgl currency was the most successful currency in the last 600 years if the measure is public benefit. Some would probably claim the US Dollar is the most successful and if you mean in subjugating and dominating the world I guess it is but that is about maximizing profits for the few, not for public benefit.
Thanks for your comment, Howard. I'm not being facetious when I say I think we need to eliminate the word money. I think it engenders too much confusion at this point. But obviously, in order to change the word we first need to change the thing to which it refers. It would be pointless to change the word without changing the thing first. Of course you and I are in agreement that demurrage is the correct way to do that, and I would propose that when we implement demurrage we thereafter use the word "currency" instead of "money", so as to avoid confusion.
I agree there is much confusion around the word money, I'm just not sure I can blame the word for that. Under the current paradigm it seems all words are enlisted to serve power. They call Bitcoin a currency.... lol. Maybe, money is the power, currency is the flow.