I didn't say its value is arbitrary, I said subjective. Its value isn't arbitrary because it's subjectively valued highly by a lot of people.alphacat wrote:The value of gold is not arbitrary: besides its physical properties, which are useful in electronics and engineering - every chip in your computer is wired up with gold, for example - it is also durable and doesn't corrode, the supply is scarce but more or less steady, and there's a long running track record reinforcing its value (or the cultural perception thereof some like Von Mises would argue. Or aesthetics, etc... where's LD when you need her?)
And it's something I argued in the 'basic income guarantee thread', though you left out something crucial...
That those things you mentioned add value to it are subjective calls.Genevieve wrote:The reason a corporate lawyer makes more money than someone cleaning anything is similar to why gold or diamonds are expensive and wood is cheap, even if wood has far more useful applications than gold has. I don't think society as we know it could exist without wood, but it's so abundant that we place fairly little value on it. Gold is a rarity and has some uses, but its main appeal came from its relative rarity combined with aesthetic appeal. Its historical place in society has cemented it as something people place value on. Some people would naively have you think that labor determines value. But it doesn't matter if you went looking for that one piece of gold for years brushing dirt away with a toothbrush, or if you accidentally syumbled on that one piece of gold when you were hiking. People's interest in your gold hasn't increased because it took a lot of effort for you to find it.[
Von Mises argued that the strength of a currency is co-decided by its practical use. It's not an argument of objective value, but longevity in subjective value.
