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>It's kind of amazing to think that the system that underpins an awful lot of human activity is a collective delusion. It not a delusion it's an agreement. Dol

>It's kind of amazing to think that the system that underpins an awful lot of human activity is a collective delusion. It not a delusion it's an agreement. Dollars are a form of ledger. They just keep track of who owns how much of a big liquidity pool. We had to pick something or we'd have to manage liquidity for a cartesian product of commodities(e.g. "Whats the price ratio of Chickens to Ford Taurus's today? Is anyone even in a position to exchange?"). Crypto is just an extension of this idea. Its has value because it facilitates exchange. I can turn dollars into bitcoin, bitcoin into ETH, ETH into yen, and yen into sushi. As long as those currencies are liquid they have utility.

verisimi 5y ago
When did you make this agreement? Did you sign a contract? Or, did you simply find that this was the system in place, and you went along with it? Re your point about crypto - did you see how you turned your crypto into yen (fiat) to get your sushi?
- blfr 5y ago
  When did you make this agreement? Did you sign a contract? You make this agreement every time you accept dollars for good and services. And most people do or would.
- SassyGrapefruit 5y ago
  The agreement is "tacit" you agree simply by participating. You never signed a contract to drive on a specific side of the road, but I doubt I'd see you careening into oncoming traffic because of its absence. > did you see how you turned your crypto into yen (fiat) to get your sushi? Sure did why is that a problem? I could have turned the fiat into Marriott points and exchanged those for a hotel stay. Does that mean the fiat is worthless because I turned it into Marriott Points first? I just needed to get my liquidity into the correct medium. FWIW I don't like to think of it as "buying sushi" instead I sold yen for sushis. Maybe I'll use my sushis to buy bitcoin from someone.
  - deleted 5y ago
    [deleted]
  - FabHK 5y ago
    Yup, sushi surely is the ultimate store of value, just behind soap bubbles and airline seats.
    - SassyGrapefruit 5y ago
      This may surprise you but there is a whole industry setup around exchanging airplane seats for dollars. We call them airlines.
  - merely-unlikely 5y ago
    "The agreement is "tacit" you agree simply by participating." Yes, but you are also forced to participate in order to pay your taxes. Even if you, for example, only conducted trade via barter, the gov would still require you to pay taxes in local currency.
    - SassyGrapefruit 5y ago
      Yes this is what "tacit" means. Just like you tacitly agree you won't murder people or we'll put you in jail. You don't get an option to opt out. Its called society. On the upside you get protection from others murdering you. The alternative as Locke put it is "nasty, brutish, and short". Are we really litigating this again? I thought we worked out the philosophy on this a solid 250 years ago.
- imtringued 5y ago
  > When did you make this agreement? Did you sign a contract? All money in the economy is created through debt. Yes, someone signed a contract. Home owners did, students did, corporations did and even the government does it.
- nonameiguess 5y ago
  Finding a system already in place and going along with it is how societies work. You personally did not sign off on your country's constitution, any of the laws, nor the cultures and norms of whatever groups you, your family, and your friends consider themselves to be a part of. There is nothing at all unique about currency here.

verisimi 5y ago

When did you make this agreement? Did you sign a contract? Or, did you simply find that this was the system in place, and you went along with it? Re your point about crypto - did you see how you turned your crypto into yen (fiat) to get your sushi?

blfr 5y ago
When did you make this agreement? Did you sign a contract? You make this agreement every time you accept dollars for good and services. And most people do or would.
SassyGrapefruit 5y ago
The agreement is "tacit" you agree simply by participating. You never signed a contract to drive on a specific side of the road, but I doubt I'd see you careening into oncoming traffic because of its absence. > did you see how you turned your crypto into yen (fiat) to get your sushi? Sure did why is that a problem? I could have turned the fiat into Marriott points and exchanged those for a hotel stay. Does that mean the fiat is worthless because I turned it into Marriott Points first? I just needed to get my liquidity into the correct medium. FWIW I don't like to think of it as "buying sushi" instead I sold yen for sushis. Maybe I'll use my sushis to buy bitcoin from someone.
- deleted 5y ago
  [deleted]
- FabHK 5y ago
  Yup, sushi surely is the ultimate store of value, just behind soap bubbles and airline seats.
  - SassyGrapefruit 5y ago
    This may surprise you but there is a whole industry setup around exchanging airplane seats for dollars. We call them airlines.
- merely-unlikely 5y ago
  "The agreement is "tacit" you agree simply by participating." Yes, but you are also forced to participate in order to pay your taxes. Even if you, for example, only conducted trade via barter, the gov would still require you to pay taxes in local currency.
  - SassyGrapefruit 5y ago
    Yes this is what "tacit" means. Just like you tacitly agree you won't murder people or we'll put you in jail. You don't get an option to opt out. Its called society. On the upside you get protection from others murdering you. The alternative as Locke put it is "nasty, brutish, and short". Are we really litigating this again? I thought we worked out the philosophy on this a solid 250 years ago.
imtringued 5y ago
> When did you make this agreement? Did you sign a contract? All money in the economy is created through debt. Yes, someone signed a contract. Home owners did, students did, corporations did and even the government does it.
nonameiguess 5y ago
Finding a system already in place and going along with it is how societies work. You personally did not sign off on your country's constitution, any of the laws, nor the cultures and norms of whatever groups you, your family, and your friends consider themselves to be a part of. There is nothing at all unique about currency here.