The Political Thread

[Jim_Campbell]

Fourthly, if you want money that belongs to you and you alone, try keeping your savings in silver and gold (and now is a good time to buy because the banking system is keeping g/s prices artificially low to mask the plummeting 'value' of paper currencies around the world (India and China are especially switched on to this fact - China, after a massive gold buying spree, now has more than any other country in the world)), and also have a look at Bitcoin, which is growing in popularity and acceptability almost daily.

Gold and silver have no intrinsic value beyond what the markets set; its worth is as much a fiction as that of paper money, albeit a different fiction. Maybe Bitcoin's not that great, either.

Unless you're going to live in the hills and barter with the food you grow and the livestock you raise, you're pretty much stuck with system we've got. And even if you did voluntarily return yourself to the Stone Age, the land would only be yours for as long as no one wanted to build a road through it or discovered there was shale gas underneath it.

Cheers

Jim

[The Legendary Shark]

Gold and silver do have intrinsic value in that they are useful, and in some cases vital, in industry and technology.
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But yes, you're correct - no money ever has or ever will have intrinsic value. If one wishes to purchase goods and services with items of intrinsic value then one has to go back to barter. It is a currency's lack of intrinsic value that makes it so fungible and therefore so useful.
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Yes, Bitcoin has its problems and its downsides, just like any currency, and it is an emergent system that is bound to throw up some unexpected circumstances along the way. There was nothing I read in that article you linked to that turned me off BtC and I think that when the author starts accusing the cryptocurrency of creating markets for assassinations and child pornography he's just grasping at straws. Was a child never sold for Euros, a man never killed for Sterling, drugs never purchased with a credit card, illegal weapons never bought with a cheque?
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As for the second part of your post - wow, spoken like a true serf, man! That's the elite's argument; do as you're told or get stuffed. To assert that the only choice we have is between the modern age and the stone age is in my view a vast and unhelpful oversimplification of the monetary problem and the very real solutions which do exist that would allow all of us to live in the modern age - including those of us who live in countries a lot closer to the stone age than we are.
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The world we could have, should we ever decide to turn our industries and technologies to serving people instead of profits, is astounding. But we're told that we can't afford that world - and who tells us we can't afford it? We all know who and we all know the kinds of worlds they luxuriate in.
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Come away from the Dark Side, Jim! Don't listen to Emperor Camerontine and Darth Carney - their false dichotomies are poisoning your mind!
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Come over to the Light, Jim - where we say No to false choices and strive to forge our own currenc... er, destinies!
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www.spectator.co.uk/columnists/james-delingpole/9106132/those-bitcoin-weirdos-might-just-be-right/

[Jim_Campbell]

As for the second part of your post - wow, spoken like a true serf, man!

Patronising, much?

One of is in the grip of a complete fantasy. I'll give you a clue: it isn't me.

Cheers

Jim

[The Legendary Shark]

Trust me - my life at the moment is very real.
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And I patronised the argument, not the man. Your posts indicate to me that you are a man of intelligence capable of reasoning and communicating in a deep and astute manner. I simply find the 'no other way' argument beneath us both.

[Hawkmumbler]

I don't really think it's possible to sustain a culturally diverse world population of 7 billion without relying on currency in place of barter.

[The Legendary Shark]

How about currency alongside barter, as happens now?
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As I say, it's not an either/or thing. It is perfectly feasible for fiat currencies, cryptocurrencies, metallic currencies and barter to coexist. Indeed, each one has its own merits and its own drawbacks, each one more useful in some circumstances than others.
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For example, the debt-based currency we use at the moment is ideal for backing big business ventures. The money is created at interest and then invested into business projects - success generates returns for the money creators and failure results in the loss of artificial money anyway.
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Socially created money, currencies created interest free by governments, are ideal for funding public needs like hospitals and social services. This type of money just pumps around the system, doing its job, until it is retired or destroyed, leaving no debt behind it.
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Cryptocurrencies are good for e-shopping and e-transactions because they also are not based on debt and remove the need for expensive middlemen (banks, credit cards, etc.) and infrastructure.
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Barter is good if I've ended up with two copies of a book you haven't got and you've ended up with two copies of a book I haven't got.
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Metallic currencies are good in the End Times, when faith in all other currencies fail. Also, gold is worth something just about everywhere - even thus far undiscovered South American pygmies could probably be talked into trading you food and water for a gold coin.
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[The Legendary Shark]

Well, the Crunch impends...
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The bailiffs are coming on Monday morning, intent on rendering me homeless. It is my intent to foil their intentions. Will the loopy comic book guy prevail or be ground under the oppressor's heel?
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I'm kinda' intrigued to know the answer myself...
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Place your bets!

[NapalmKev]

Well, the Crunch impends...
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The bailiffs are coming on Monday morning, intent on rendering me homeless. It is my intent to foil their intentions. Will the loopy comic book guy prevail or be ground under the oppressor's heel?
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I'm kinda' intrigued to know the answer myself...
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Place your bets!

Whilst reading your post I was reminded of the King/Bachman book - Roadkill.

Good luck with the bailiffs.

Cheers

[The Legendary Shark]

Thanks, Kev - I appreciate it.
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Haven't read that one, I don't think. Does it have a happy ending?
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Second thoughts; don't answer that! :-D

[Professor Bear]

Best of luck with The Man, Sharky.

[JayzusB.Christ]

Aye, hope it all goes well, Sharky.  If you looked exactly like your avatar nobody would go near you.

[von Boom]

Good luck with that Sharky. Hope it works out for you.

[TordelBack]

Very best of luck, Mark.  I've had doings with the bailiffs myself, and while it wasn't pleasant I'm still here - sincerely hope that your principles-in-adversity triumph over bureaucratic inhumanity.  Let us know either way. 

[Ancient Otter]

Take care TLS.

[The Legendary Shark]

Thanks for the support, chaps - it is very much appreciated.