Hacker News new | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit login

> money is like a legal contract recording how much abstract value you have given to "society" and how much access you have to resources

Finally, someone who understands money. As opposed to the typical "but my military!", as if no country with a strong military had ever had its currency fail...

I would only emphasize the importance of the scarcity aspect of money, which seems to be a (purposely) forgotten lesson nowadays. It reminds me of the historical importance of the Spanish Price Revolution, which with its 1.2% yearly inflation, nowadays it would be considered laughable.




>>> as if no country with a strong military had ever had its currency fail...

Has there been a widely accepted currency (true currency) that hasn't had military might behind it? Has there been a dramatic military failure that hasn't been followed by currency decline?

Military, state and currency are all interlinked on a pretty deep level.


> Has there been a widely accepted currency (true currency) that hasn't had military might behind it?

Yes, even today, for example, Costa Rica has no military yet they have their own currency. Its Central Bank manipulates its value by buying and selling the currency in the free market, which is what many countries do nowadays (although not always by the same mechanisms).

> Has there been a dramatic military failure that hasn't been followed by currency decline?

Yes, unless by "dramatic military failure" you mean having their economy destroyed, at which point of course the currency fails, but that's because economy destruction leads to currency failure regardless of any military defeats.

However, the better question is: has any country with a strong military ever had its currency fail without any military defeat?

And the answer is yes, plenty, which proves that having a strong military has nothing to do with having a stable currency.

Let's say your currency starts to fail (say, due to hyperinflation)... what is the government going to do with the military to prevent the collapse? Order them to intimidate the market?! That's a completely ridiculous proposition...




Join us for AI Startup School this June 16-17 in San Francisco!

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact

Search: