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I'll think some more about Paul C.'s comments, and have one remark in
response...
> > > 4) This further suggests that the determinants of the value of money
>> > in contemporary capitalism lie in the speculative valuation of the
>> > government debt on asset markets. (Everybody I've tried this on has
>> > doubts about this idea.) It requires one to believe that, for
>> > example, workers, in bargaining over the money wage, are implicitly
>> > valuing the state debt as well as their own labor-power.
>>
>
>This speculative valuation can only affect the relative values of different
>currencies. Abstract from multiple currencies and in that case with what
>would governement debt be speculated in. Speculation on government bonds
>alters the price of the bonds, relative to other commodites, but the prices
>of the bonds and the prices of other commodites are still denominated in
>money, so this will not affect the value of money relative to other
>commodities.
It's clear enough that speculation plays a role in the relative
valuation of currencies. But at some point, it would have to play a
role in the valuation of each currency against commodities, including
labor-power, wouldn't it? It's rather strange to think of a worker
selling her labor-power speculating on the value of the dollar, but
in extreme inflationary situations, this must happen.
Duncan
-- Duncan K. Foley Leo Model Professor Department of Economics Graduate Faculty New School University 65 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10003 (212)-229-5906 messages: (212)-229-5717 fax: (212)-229-5724 e-mail: foleyd@cepa.newschool.edu alternate: foleyd@newschool.edu webpage: http://cepa.newschool.edu/~foleyd
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