4 ms·
> its currencies are real because they say they are and have the power to force behind them No. Currencies are real because people trust they'll have value tom
by derleth 14y ago
> its currencies are real because they say they are and have the power to force behind them
No. Currencies are real because people trust they'll have value tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow, as Shakespeare said. Otherwise, the old Zimbabwe dollar would be in use, as opposed to being dumped after the hyperinflation.
- etherael 14y agoHyperinflation doesn't so much make a currency unreal as simply worthless, Zimbabwean dollars were still Zimbabwean dollars, and the government was still charging taxes in that currency and enforcing its laws and systems by fines in that currency, but it becomes a little bit of a moot point when as you point out the currency is devalued, there's no real way for governments to stop that. That surely hasn't stopped them from trying, either in the Zimbabwe case or all throughout history, governments are extremely fond of making ridiculous proclamations to support their currencies whilst undergoing hyperinflation to very little effect, but when the great majority of people refuse to listen to you anymore and you have no credibility it ceases to matter.