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>but we never stop to think about that. Why do you think people don't know about it or haven't thought about it? Is there some predicted outcome in the world—t

by daenz 4y ago

>but we never stop to think about that. Why do you think people don't know about it or haven't thought about it? Is there some predicted outcome in the world—that is absent—that suggests that people don't know that "value" is a human construct?

scottiebarnes 4y ago
It takes a lot of time and education to understand the necessary parts. A bit of economics, a bit of history, a bit of social psychology. Most people are living their lives day to day, and never stop to think about what money is. We just use it, and never stop to think about why paper bills are worth anything (or that our entire networths are basically digits in a MySQL database these days).
- daenz 4y ago
  Let me make my question more clear: You're assuming people have never thought about it, and I'm asking why you believe that they have never thought about it.
  - scottiebarnes 4y ago
    I'm assuming because the average person is a day laborer repeating physical tasks. Their biggest concern is having enough money to survive for the month. I supposed I could be wrong and that my taxi driver is indeed well informed about the nuances of monetary policy and monetary history.
    - daenz 4y ago
      >I supposed I could be wrong and that my taxi driver is indeed well informed about the nuances of monetary policy and monetary history. Why are you strawmanning my argument? I didn't ask if you believe your average person knows "the nuances of monetary policy", I asked why you believe people haven't thought about "value" being a human construct. Everyone I've talked to about the subject acknowledges that they've thought about it before. Some go as far as to roll their eyes, like "oh great, this conversation again" because it's so played out. So I think you're seriously underestimating who hasn't heard of these ideas. Go ahead, ask your next uber driver why money has value, and see if the response isn't something along the lines of "because people believe it has value." It's not a difficult concept only understood by experts.

by daenz 4y ago

scottiebarnes 4y ago

It takes a lot of time and education to understand the necessary parts. A bit of economics, a bit of history, a bit of social psychology. Most people are living their lives day to day, and never stop to think about what money is. We just use it, and never stop to think about why paper bills are worth anything (or that our entire networths are basically digits in a MySQL database these days).

daenz 4y ago
Let me make my question more clear: You're assuming people have never thought about it, and I'm asking why you believe that they have never thought about it.
- scottiebarnes 4y ago
  I'm assuming because the average person is a day laborer repeating physical tasks. Their biggest concern is having enough money to survive for the month. I supposed I could be wrong and that my taxi driver is indeed well informed about the nuances of monetary policy and monetary history.
  - daenz 4y ago
    >I supposed I could be wrong and that my taxi driver is indeed well informed about the nuances of monetary policy and monetary history. Why are you strawmanning my argument? I didn't ask if you believe your average person knows "the nuances of monetary policy", I asked why you believe people haven't thought about "value" being a human construct. Everyone I've talked to about the subject acknowledges that they've thought about it before. Some go as far as to roll their eyes, like "oh great, this conversation again" because it's so played out. So I think you're seriously underestimating who hasn't heard of these ideas. Go ahead, ask your next uber driver why money has value, and see if the response isn't something along the lines of "because people believe it has value." It's not a difficult concept only understood by experts.