TheGuySwann on Nostr: It’s a combination of the 2. It’s the value OF the trade network. I never said it ...
It’s a combination of the 2. It’s the value OF the trade network. I never said it *replaced* the value, to the contrary, I said it must be able to hold the value relative to the amount of economic network it can sustain. If it can only hold small value, it can only build a small trade network. If it can hold massive value, it could sustain a massive trade network.
In other words, it holds the value of everything available FOR trade today or expected to be in the future.
But it is inaccurate to say that all the value of society and its goods remains even without the money, because the overwhelming majority of the things we value is because it is part of a massive trade network.
Example: A car isn’t worth anything without money, because there is a globally spanning mining, shipping and refining infrastructure to get gas to a massive, complex network of gas tanks and delivery stations that are within driving distance of everyone else in the network. Without money, that coordination and delivery network is deader than King Tut. And your car is worth about 200 miles before being little more than a heavy tent. Most of our goods are only valuable because they are part of a trading economy. Without that trading economy and the distance it spans, many of our goods are worthless. (Think a smartphone without internet or electricity)
In other words, it holds the value of everything available FOR trade today or expected to be in the future.
But it is inaccurate to say that all the value of society and its goods remains even without the money, because the overwhelming majority of the things we value is because it is part of a massive trade network.
Example: A car isn’t worth anything without money, because there is a globally spanning mining, shipping and refining infrastructure to get gas to a massive, complex network of gas tanks and delivery stations that are within driving distance of everyone else in the network. Without money, that coordination and delivery network is deader than King Tut. And your car is worth about 200 miles before being little more than a heavy tent. Most of our goods are only valuable because they are part of a trading economy. Without that trading economy and the distance it spans, many of our goods are worthless. (Think a smartphone without internet or electricity)