From: Paul Cockshott (clyder@GN.APC.ORG)
Date: Fri Apr 30 2004 - 18:30:09 EDT
On Friday 30 Apr 2004 12:33, Gerald A. Levy wrote:
That link was useful. The theory he is putting forward is
very similar to Wray's. On the monetary history of
Rome, I found Sture Bolin's book very usefull in demolishing
metallist prejudices.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Jurriaan Bendien" <andromeda246@hetnet.nl>
> Sent: Thursday, April 29, 2004 7:44 PM
> Subject: Ingham and monetary theory
>
> > There's a discussion of Igham's thesis at:
> > http://www.siswo.uva.nl/es/5-2art2.html. I am reminded a little of the
>
> scene
>
> > described by Stuart Hughes in his classic "Consciousness and Society" -
> > http://www.h-net.org/reviews/showrev.cgi?path=940974131108 . It is
> > characteristic of every period of economic stagnation (relative or
>
> absolute)
>
> > in the history of capitalism, that new theories are mooted about the role
>
> of
>
> > money and credit, basically because the misalignment of buying power and
>
> the
>
> > production of tradable goods and services which that stagnation implies.
>
> But
>
> > really those new theories are only as good as the empirical knowledge of
>
> the
>
> > actual uses of money to which they refer, and their relative quantitative
> > importance.
> >
> > Ingham's inquiry seems perfectly valid, since if money is utilised in new
> > ways, then the theory of money ought to be developed further. I've often
>
> had
>
> > the impression that Marxist theoreticians talking about money is a bit
>
> like
>
> > the Pope talking about sex (His Holiness can important insights to offer
> > about human spirituality I am sure, just as Marxists have important
>
> insights
>
> > to offer about the social implications of the use of money - but
> > basically as far as money is concerned one is often better off studying
> > what experienced bankers actually say about it). I haven't had the peace
> > of
>
> mind
>
> > or opportunity yet to develop a really good modern interpretation of
> > money myself, but I think theoretically the 16 main use-values of money,
> > such as they emerge in Marx's writings, can be summarised as follows:
> >
> > a. A means for the observation and cognition of economic value relations;
>
> a
>
> > general means of logical abstraction, economic/financial communication
> > and economic/financial calculation, applied in exchange negotiations,
> > relating prices and values used for general economic valuation purposes
> > (it is not necessary to actually possess money for this, it is
> > sufficiently to name
>
> or
>
> > calculate prices, either actually existing prices or ideal prices).
> > b. A means of negotiating competition and cooperation between people.
> > c. A means of exchange, making possible the purchase/sale and circulation
>
> of
>
> > goods (including other money, commodities and capital) and services
> > (including financial services), if exchange can freely occur (inclusion
> > of people into a market).
> > d. A universal equivalent which makes it possible to purchase or sell any
> > particular good or service on offer to the general public, if an open
>
> market
>
> > exists.
> > e. A universally recognised means of payment or contractual settlement in
> > transactions, insofar as the transition is
> > made from ideal money to real money offered in exchange ("hard cash").
> > f. A store of economic value enabling the continuity, equilibration and
> > regulation of economic processes (production, circulation, distribution
>
> and
>
> > consumption) and the maintenance of economic security.
> > g. A unit of value and a standard for pricing.
> > h. A practical measure of value expressing the relative values of goods
>
> and
>
> > services; ideal money or money-of-account, as
> > distinct from cash or actual prices, can express the value of any good or
> > service ("medium of account").
> > i. A means for the accumulation of capital (chrematistic activity)
> > principally through trading, lending, borrowing, investment, seignorage
>
> and
>
> > (re-)valuation.
> > j. A means of hoarding, saving or forming reserves.
> > k. An objectified potential or actual claim (entitlement) to ownership of
> > goods and services.
> > l. An objectified means of appropriation, ownership-acquisition and
> > exploitation of goods and services, and the maintenance of asset
>
> ownership.
>
> > m. An objectified means of social exclusion from market activity (market
> > closure) or social inclusion through market activity (market expansion)
> > by virtue of money-ownership or lack thereof.
> > n. An objectified universal means of expression of social and material
> > wealth, and of the value of labour effort.
> > o. A means of expressing or symbolising a social relation.
> > p. A means for enforcing terms of exchange and asserting power among
>
> people,
>
> > social classes and nations.
> >
> > Function (j) becomes particularly important in contracted reproduction,
>
> the
>
> > opposite of expanded reproduction. In an economy which is mainly
>
> non-market,
>
> > contracted reproduction means mainly an absolute reduction of the
> > physical stock of means of production and consumption. This could occur
> > through natural disasters, war destruction, or adverse changes in the
> > distribution of means of subsistence.
> >
> > In a market economy, contracted reproduction means an absolute decline in
> > real capital, implying an absolute reduction of the value and/or quantity
>
> of
>
> > labour-power (with consequences for the reproduction of labour power) and
>
> an
>
> > inability to renew the real stock of constant capital assets. This takes
>
> the
>
> > form of cumulative devalorisation or devaluation of capital, and the
> > application of capital funds for activities which fail to restore the
> > necessary proportions for simple and expanded economic reproduction. No
> > natural disasters or war destruction are in principle necessary for this,
> > i.e. the causes could be due purely to the specific social/financial
> > organisation of production and trade.
> >
> > I think 10 main "novel" monetary features of the current era of
> > capitalist development are:
> >
> > (1) the growth of what Marx called "fictitious capital" in the form of
> > credit money, financial claims and potential asset values as a source of
> > accumulation in a deregulated market.
> > (2) the greater ability of money to transit from one location to another
> > very fast, and displace the costs of productive and unproductive
>
> consumption
>
> > in space and time.
> > (3) phenomena such as dollarisation and euroisation, discussed e.g. by
> > Guglielmo Carchedi, where a treasury or reserve bank controls a currency
>
> of
>
> > which a very large part is not used in its own territory, and where the
> > national currency of another country or region is adopted.
> > (4) the growth of counter-trade and offset-type agreements in
>
> international
>
> > trade, in which cash payment only plays a subsidiary role.
> > (5) new uses of money in trading practices, due to deregulation, a degree
>
> of
>
> > socialisation of consumption, and the loss of privacy, which can revalue
>
> and
>
> > devalue privately owned goods and services, and thereby change the terms
>
> of
>
> > exchange between transactors.
> > (6) the relative increase of forged currency (counterfeit money) and
>
> illegal
>
> > transactions facilitated by deregulation and new information technology,
> > making the legal regulation of the use of money more difficult.
> > (7) the increase of debt management and financial liabilities as a source
>
> of
>
> > capital accumulation.
> > (8) the ability, given new information and communication technology, for
> > market perceptions to change much faster and have a larger impact on
> > monetary phenomena.
> > (9) the reduced ability of government authorities to regulate and control
> > the utilisation of money.
> > (10) the worldwide growth of the formal and informal prostitution
> > economy, and real or defacto slavery, among poor people, children and
> > students.
> >
> > Jurriaan
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