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Text File  |  1992-12-23  |  1.4 KB  |  39 lines
  1. Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU
  2. Path: sparky!uunet!paladin.american.edu!howland.reston.ans.net!wupost!psuvax1!psuvm!auvm!SAIL.STANFORD.EDU!ANDY
  3. Organization: Computer Science Department,  Stanford University.
  4. Message-ID: <9212222304.AA19051@SAIL.Stanford.EDU>
  5. Newsgroups: bit.listserv.politics
  6. Date:         Tue, 22 Dec 1992 15:04:30 -0800
  7. Sender:       Forum for the Discussion of Politics <POLITICS@UCF1VM.BITNET>
  8. From:         Andy Freeman <andy@SAIL.STANFORD.EDU>
  9. Subject: Re: why gold - money qualities
  10. In-Reply-To:  <9212211415.AA12714@infoserv.ii.uj.edu.pl>
  11. Lines: 26
  12.  
  13. In article <9212211415.AA12714@infoserv.ii.uj.edu.pl> you write:
  14. >"Why gold?" you ask.
  15. >
  16. >[Here are the qualities money should have:]
  17. >-portability
  18. >-indestructibility
  19. >-homogeneity
  20. >-divisibility
  21. >-cognizability
  22. >-relative stability of value compared to other commodities
  23.  
  24. Hmm.  Indestructibility seems overrated given "replacement".  (It
  25. doesn't have to be infinitely divisible either.)
  26.  
  27. I do find it interesting that "can't be created at will" isn't
  28. on the list.
  29.  
  30. Consider the effect of "New World exploration" on the economies of
  31. Spain and Portugal.  Suddenly they had tons more gold than before.
  32. Were they richer?  All they really got was the ability to do buy that
  33. they couldn't afford before stuff from people who didn't have access
  34. to gold, but too much of that, and they destroy their own productive
  35. capacity.
  36.  
  37. -andy
  38. --
  39.