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Monday, September 16, 2019

Money Bugs (2012)

From the October 2012 issue of the Socialist Standard

William Jennings Bryan was what we call today a “money bug.” He believed that a certain change in the monetary system would be enough to bring prosperity to the vast majority and, at least, security to all. But, since money is merely a measure of value, we know full well that a mere change in its form would not add more value to that which it measures, any more than the shortening or lengthening of a yardstick would add length or quality to the cloth it measures.

This is the stumbling block of the majority of money reformers; they believe that a change in the measuring of value, a change in the money system, will bring about an alteration in the wealth it measures and changes in the possession of wealth.

…[N]o mere change in the means of measuring or medium of exchanging values will create new values or cause existing values to circulate more freely.

(John Keracher, Economics for Beginners, 1935 )

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